Miami Heat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Miami Heat | |
 |
|
| Conference | Eastern Conference |
| Division | Southeast Division |
| Founded | 1988 |
| History | Miami Heat (1988-present) |
| Arena | AmericanAirlines Arena |
| City | Miami, Florida |
| Team Colors | Black, Red, White, Orange |
| Owner | Micky Arison |
| Head Coach | Pat Riley |
| Championships | 1 (2006) |
| Conference Titles | 1 (2006) |
| Division Titles | 6 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006) |
The Miami Heat are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Heat are the current NBA Champions after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.
Contents |
[edit] Home arenas
- Miami Arena (1988–1999)
- AmericanAirlines Arena (1999—)
[edit] History
[edit] Birth of the Heat
During the boom period of the NBA of the 1980s the league sought to expand itself from 23 teams to 26 by the end of the decade. In Florida, a state devoid of any NBA franchises, groups from Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami all vied to land franchises.
The Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority eventually endorsed a group led by NBA Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham and former sports agent (and lifelong friend of Cunningham's) Lewis Schaffel, who received their financial backing from Carnival Cruise Lines tycoon Ted Arison, who would be the majority shareholder of a potential franchise but defer the day-to-day operations to minority shareholders Cunningham and Schaffel.
In April 1987, the NBA expansion committee endorsed the bids of the cities of Charlotte and Minneapolis. However, the committee was split between awarding the third and final franchise to Miami or Orlando, causing representatives from both cities to toss barbs at the other. Finally, it was decided that the NBA would expand by 4 teams, with the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat debuting for the 1988–89 season and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic beginning for the 1989–90 season [1].
[edit] The Rothstein years
For their first head coach, Miami hired Ron Rothstein, who was a longtime assistant coach under Chuck Daly in Detroit and who was credited with being one of the architects of Detroit's stifling defense.
The Heat came into the NBA for the 1988–89 season with an unproductive first year, with a roster full of young players and journeymen. Among the players on the inaugural roster were first round picks Rony Seikaly and Kevin Edwards, fellow rookies Grant Long and Sylvester Gray as well as NBA vets Rory Sparrow, Jon Sundvold, Pat Cummings, Scott Hastings, Dwayne "Pearl" Washington and Billy Thompson. The team started out the season by losing its first 17 games, an NBA record. It did not help that the Heat were placed in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. This forced them on the longest road trips in the NBA; their nearest divisional opponent was the Houston Rockets, over 900 miles from Miami. The team ultimately finished with a league-worst 15–67 win-loss record.
To help address Miami's league-low point production, the Heat picked Glen Rice from the University of Michigan in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft, and Sherman Douglas of Syracuse University in the 2nd round. The team also moved to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference for the 1989–90 season, where they would remain for the next 15 years. However, the Heat continued to struggle and never won more than two consecutive games, en route to an 18–64 record.
The 1989–90 season saw Miami awarded with the 3rd pick overall, only to parlay via two trades (first with the Denver Nuggets and later with the Houston Rockets) into getting the 9th and 12th picks, with which they selected Willie Burton of the University of Minnesota and Alec Kessler of the University of Georgia. Both picks flopped, as the Heat tried to turn Burton, a college small forward, into a shooting guard without much success and Kessler was bogged by injury problems and was not physical enough to be a quality NBA power forward.
While Rice, Seikaly and Douglas all showed improvement from the previous year, Miami still only went 24–58 and remained in the Atlantic Division basement.
Rothstein would resign as head coach at the end of the season, but later would return to the Heat prior to the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach, a role he still fulfills today.
[edit] Loughery years
In the wake of Isaac's resignation prior to the 1991–92 season, the Heat hired Kevin Loughery, who had 29 years of experience in the NBA both as a coach and a player, to be their new head coach.
For the 1991 NBA Draft, the team selected Steve Smith from Michigan State, an agile guard, to usher in a new era of a mature Heat team. With the help of rookie Smith, Rony Seikaly, and a more experienced Glen Rice, the Heat finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 38–44 record and made the playoffs for the first time. Playing the league-best Chicago Bulls, the Heat were swept in three games. Steve Smith made the NBA All-Rookie team and Glen Rice finished 10th in the NBA in scoring.
The 1992-93 NBA season included the additions of draft choice Harold Miner of the University of Southern California as well as trading a 1st round pick (which would turn into the #10 overall pick the following season) for Detroit Pistons forward/center John Salley.
While Salley's addition was first met with hope because of the role that he played on two championship Detroit Pistons squads, it became quickly apparent that Salley was a quality role player for a good team, but not a quality player for a mediocre team like Miami was at the time. Salley would eventually have his playing time diminish, ultimately resulting in his being taken by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 expansion draft. As for the season itself, it started off poorly, with Smith missing time with a knee injury and Burton being lost for most of the year with a wrist injury. Upon Smith's return, Miami posted a winning record in February and March, but it was not enough to dig themselves out of the 13–27-hole they began in. They finished 36–46 and would not return to the playoffs.
A healthier squad fared better in 1993–94, posting the franchise's first-ever winning record at 42–40 and returning to the playoffs as the #8 seed versus the Atlanta Hawks. After Miami had a 2-1 series lead, Atlanta rallied from the deficit to win the best-of-5 series. After that season, Steve Smith would be selected as a member of the 2nd Dream Team, the collection of NBA All-Stars who were selected to compete in the 1994 World Basketball Championships in Toronto as Team U.S.A..
Dream Team II, also made up of future Heat players Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Dan Majerle and Tim Hardaway, would go on to win the tournament.
In 1994–95, the team overhauled their roster, trading away Seikaly, Smith, and Grant Long. In return, the Heat obtained Kevin Willis and Billy Owens.
Also, at this time came a power shift in Heat's front office. On February 13, 1995 Cunningham and Lew Schaffel were bought out by the Arison family of Carnival Cruise Lines fame, who to that point in time had been silent partners in the day-to-day operations of the franchise until the buyout. Micky Arison, son of Carnival founder Ted Arison was named Managing General Partner. He immediately fired Loughery and replaced him with Alvin Gentry on an interim basis to try and shake up the 17–29 Heat. Gentry went 15–21 for the remaining 36 games of the season for a 32–50 record overall, 10 games off the previous year's mark.
[edit] Riley years
In the 1995 offseason, the Heat hired Pat Riley from the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers and the 1990s New York Knicks to be their new president and coach. Riley dropped a bombshell shortly before the season began, sending Glen Rice and Matt Geiger (among others) to the Hornets in exchange for All-Star center Alonzo Mourning. In a flurry of midseason deals, Riley acquired several players including Tim Hardaway, Chris Gatling and Walt Williams. The Heat finished with a winning record with Mourning among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding, but lost in the playoffs in a 3-game sweep against the 72–10 Bulls. The following season, the Heat finished with a franchise-best 61–21 record with new additions, Dan Majerle, P.J. Brown, Jamal Mashburn, and Voshon Lenard. They took out Riley's former team in seven games, rallying from a 3–1 series deficit, partly due to several Knicks players leaving the bench (leading to several suspensions) during a fight that occurred between P.J. Brown and Charlie Ward after Ward was body-slammed by the usually mild-mannered Brown, leading to a brawl. The Heat were however ousted from the playoffs in five games (after falling into a 3–0 series deficit) by the Bulls for the second consecutive year, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat celebrated their 10-year anniversary in the 1997–98 season and captured their second straight Atlantic Division title. However, in what would become a heated rivalry, the Heat lost in the first round against coach Riley's former team, the New York Knicks after Mourning would miss the deciding Game 5 via suspension after getting into a Game 4 altercation with Larry Johnson and with Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy hanging onto Mourning's leg in an attempt to intervene.
1998-99 was a lockout-shortened season, although Miami would have a conference-best 33-17 record to claim their first-ever #1 seed in the NBA Playoffs. In spite of their seeding, the Heat would lose to the Knicks again after Allan Houston hit a rim-bouncing game-winning jumper in Game 5 to decide the series. The Knicks would go on to play in the 1999 NBA Finals, losing to the San Antonio Spurs
As a result of their success on the court, the Heat moved into the American Airlines Arena in 1999, with seats for over 20,500 fans. The Heat again lost in a deciding Game 7 to the Knicks by a single point.
During the summer of 2000, the Heat felt it finally needed a change. After losing out to the Orlando Magic to get Raptors swingman Tracy McGrady, Miami decided to trade P.J. Brown and Jamal Mashburn to the Charlotte Hornets (among others) in exchange for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason and Ricky Davis. Miami also picked up Brian Grant to go along with the core of Mourning, Hardaway, Majerle, Bowen and Carter. The Heat was widely expected to be the favorites in the Eastern Conference until franchise-centerpiece Alonzo Mourning returned from the 2000 Olympics to announce he would miss the entire season due to a rare kidney disorder, known as focal glomerulosclerosis.
The Heat missed Mourning for 69 games in 2000-01, yet found success with Anthony Mason, who was named to his first All-Star game as a reserve. Brian Grant, Eddie Jones and Tim Hardaway also played well for the Heat. Alonzo Mourning returned with 13 games remaining. He was a shell of his former, MVP-candidate self and Miami was swept by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round, the same team that Miami acquired Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason from the previous summer, and Alonzo Mourning in that same year.
The following two seasons were two of the darkest in Heat history. Pat Riley missed the playoffs for the first time in his coaching career, and much of the remaining core from the division-title winning Heat teams of the late 1990s departed (Tim Hardaway, Bruce Bowen and Dan Majerle).
Miami rounded out its 2001-02 season roster with players well past their prime such as Rod Strickland, Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, LaPhonso Ellis and Kendall Gill to along with Mourning, Jones, Grant and Carter, who the Heat signed to a controversial three-year deal that many said was far too much for the young guard. And to acquire Gatling, Riley and the Heat traded away Ricky Davis, a young, promising player. The trade drew a lot of criticism at the time. The Heat also signed two young, undrafted players in Malik Allen and Mike James to make up for not having a first round pick in the draft. Miami also signed Vladimir Stepania to backup Alonzo Mourning at center. The aging, veteran team narrowly missed out on the playoffs, despite having a losing record.
Unlike the 2001-02 season, Miami began to rebuild in 2002-03. The Heat drafted Caron Butler in the first round and Rasual Butler in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft. Miami supposedly missed out on potentially selecting Yao Ming by one ping-pong ball during the draft lottery[citation needed]. Alonzo Mourning missed the entire season due to his condition worsening and Eddie Jones also missed a huge portion of the season with an ankle injury. Miami signed Travis Best to be the starting point guard. The Heat was led by Caron Butler and many of the youthful players that have filled out the Heat's roster since 2000 including Eddie House, Carter, Stepania, Allen and James.
Alonzo Mourning's huge contract expired the following summer, giving the Heat some much-needed cap relief to rebuild. However, Miami was still a few million dollars away from signing a max contract. On July 1, 2003, Miami was expecting to hear from Bill Duffy, agent for Anthony Carter, who was expected to make $4.1 million the upcoming season provided he exercise his option. Duffy's agency never informed the team and Miami was free from the contract. In addition, the season earlier, forward LaPhonso Ellis honorably rescinded a clause in his contract which would have forced the Heat to pay Ellis the following season, a burden the Heat could not afford to deal with in the rebuilding process.
With the cap space, Miami signed often-criticized forward Lamar Odom and guard Rafer Alston. Riley and the Heat also opted to draft Dwyane Wade out of Marquette University with the 5th overall pick instead of signing a large-scale free agent point guard such as Gilbert Arenas. The pick was somewhat surprising at the time, since it was expected the Miami would draft a true point guard rather than the shooting guard Wade. Miami also signed Udonis Haslem out of the University of Florida, who went undrafted a season earlier and had spent the previous season playing overseas in France. Odom, Alston, Haslem and Wade teamed up with Grant, Jones, Allen and both Butlers to form one of the most surprising teams of the season.
A few days before the start of the 2003-04 season, Pat Riley shocked the basketball world when he stepped down as head coach to focus more on his role as team president and promoted longtime assistant coach Stan Van Gundy to the head coaching position. The team was expected to be among the league's worst by NBA prognosticators. After dealing with early injury problems to Odom, Wade and both Butlers, the team quickly gelled and formed what most members of that team consider to be the most fun season of their careers. The Heat newcomers brought youth and energy to the team. Wade broke several rookie records while other Heat players, such as Odom, revived their careers. Wade began to catch the eye of scouts and fans across the league, especially during the playoffs where Wade led the Heat in toppling the New Orleans Hornets, the same team that swept the Heat into rebuilding mode just three seasons prior. Miami lost to the Indiana Pacers 4–2 in the conference semifinals. The Pacers had finished with the best record in the league and saw the Heat give Indiana a tougher series than expected.
[edit] Shaquille O'Neal/Dwyane Wade
After the promising 2003-04 season, Miami again took major steps forward. The Heat acquired superstar center Shaquille O'Neal on July 14, 2004 in a historic trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in which Miami shipped Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant out west. Dwyane Wade and O'Neal worked well as a pair and each solidified their position as NBA elites with both averaging over 20 points per game. The season also reunited several former club members. Ron Rothstein, the Heat's inaugural head coach, became an assistant coach and both Steve Smith and Alonzo Mourning rejoined the team as role players.
The Heat had its second best record in franchise history: 59–23. They were seeded first in the playoffs, and swept through the first two rounds by winning eight consecutive games against New Jersey and Washington and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals against defending champion Detroit. The teams split the first four games before Miami pushed the Pistons to the brink of elimination with an easy 92–78 victory in Game 5, but in the process lost Dwyane Wade to a strained rib muscle suffered in an attempt to take a charge against Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace. Without Wade, the Heat were routed 91–66 in Game 6 at Detroit, setting up a deciding Game 7 in Miami. In that game, Wade returned, and the Heat held a 6-point lead with 3 minutes remaining before a series of missed shots and turnovers down the stretch cost the Heat the game and the series to the Detroit Pistons, 4–3. Wade apparently struggled to breathe throughout the game due to the rib injury, forcing the Heat's star to play in a limited capacity, although he remarkably managed to score 20 points.
In the offseason, the Heat were drastically retooled. In what is considered to be the largest trade in NBA history, in a 5-team, 13-player transaction the Heat traded away Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler and Qyntel Woods and in exchange received former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and James Posey. Miami also signed future Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton, former UCLA star Jason Kapono in addition to first round pick and NCAA All American Wayne Simien. Free agent Damon Jones opted for a bigger contract offered by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Critics were quick to debate whether a reformed Heat team would have chemistry issues and whether or not the team was too old (O'Neal, Mourning and Payton were all in their mid-thirties) or had too many underacheivers (Walker had a reputation of miserable shot selection, and Williams one of turnover-prone playmaking). After an 11–10 start and with O'Neal hurt, these critics seemed to be proven right.
Pat Riley became coach of the Heat for the second time on December 12, 2005, after Van Gundy stepped down due to personal and family reasons. The team went on to win its first three games under Riley until losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cleveland loss encouraged the Heat to finish up the month of December strong. They concluded the month with 4 wins and 2 losses. The Heat though were still criticized, however, for being unable to beat the top caliber teams of the NBA. This criticism though would just grow more and more on the Heat come the month of January. Although they finished the month of January with 10 wins and 5 losses, they still could not beat the top tier teams. They suffered a loss to Detroit in late January, and in February were blown out by Phoenix twice, lost to the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, and were decimated by their eventual NBA Finals opponents in Dallas. The months of February and March were very successful for the Heat, including a stretch of 15 wins in 16 games which began with a crucial victory over the Eastern Conference powerhouse Detroit Pistons. Dwyane Wade was electric and Shaquille O'Neal stepped up his game up in a tremendous fashion, helping the Heat resurge and finish with a 52–30 record, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Shaquille played a few games for the Heat in the 06-07 season, just before going down with an injury. He came back against the Indiana Pacers and has been playing since January 2007.
[edit] 2006 Playoffs
Earning the second seed in the 2006 playoffs, the Miami Heat drew the seventh seed Chicago Bulls as their first round opponent. The Heat won the first two games of the series at home, despite Udonis Haslem being ejected in the first game and suspended in the second for throwing his mouthpiece in the area of the referee. The team lost games three and four in Chicago, but bounced back to win game five at home. After winning game six in Chicago, the Heat eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs and went on to face the New Jersey Nets in the second round. The Heat lost Game 1 at home, but then swept the Nets out of the playoffs for the second year in a row taking Game 5 at home 106–105. The Heat subsequently advanced to their second Eastern Conference Finals in as many years. The Heat opened up the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals in Detroit by facing the Pistons in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, in which the top seeded Heat lost Game 7 in a heartbreaker. They immediately stole home court advantage by winning Game 1. Miami lost the second game 92–88 after trailing by eighteen at one point, but never surrendered home court advantage. They went home and won both Game 3 (98–83) and a decisive Game 4 (89–78) at home. The Detroit Pistons then won Game 5 in The Palace of Auburn Hills 91–78, but the Heat answered back, winning game 6 (95–78) and with it the series (4–2) in Miami.
[edit] 2006 NBA Finals and Championship
After defeating the Detroit Pistons, the Heat advanced to their first NBA Finals in franchise history against the Dallas Mavericks. For the Mavericks, like the Heat, this was also their first NBA Finals appearance.
The Heat were outplayed by the Mavericks in the first two games in Dallas, with the second game being an embarrassing blowout. Things looked worse in Game 3 when the Heat faced a 13-point gap in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, with Dallas looking to take a commanding 3–0 lead in the series. Led by Dwyane Wade, who single handedly dismantled the Mavericks after falling 0-2 and he never looked back. Similar success came in Game 4, when the Miami Heat once again beat the Mavericks with a combined team effort. The Miami Heat were able to establish their ability to play under pressure in Game 5, which went into overtime. Nevertheless, the heroic effort of Wade with his 43 points, including the game tying basket and clutch overtime free throws, propelled the Heat to within one victory of their first championship in franchise history.
Interestingly, the third consecutive victory at home placed the Heat in the rare company of home teams who have swept the middle three games since the NBA switched to the 2–3–2 format for the finals in 1985. The only team to have previously accomplished that feat were the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.
On June 20, Game 6, the Heat took the NBA title in Dallas, winning the series four games to two. In winning the series, the Heat became only the third team in NBA history to win the final series after being down 0–2, following the 1969 Boston Celtics and the 1977 Portland Trailblazers. The Heat overcame a miserable start with a 14-point gap to wear down the Mavericks, and lead by one point (49–48) at the half-time buzzer. Again, Wade played a vital role, powering the Heat to a late lead. He was helped by an impressive five blocks by Alonzo Mourning (the Heat had over 10 team blocks in the game even though they were averaging a little over 2 blocks in the series) and clutch shooting by James Posey, who drained a crucial three which put the Heat ahead by six with 3 minutes to go. Surprisingly, the Mavericks were down only three with a few seconds to go after a pair of missed free-throws by Dwyane Wade. However, Dallas would be put to rest after Wade captured the rebound, fittingly ending the game by tossing the ball in the air after a missed three-point shot attempt by Jason Terry. Wade would go on to win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.
The championship proved all the more poignant for Miami's veteran superstars Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, and Antoine Walker who had never before won an NBA championship. Mourning already announced he will seek another title in the 2006-07 season, and Payton said he would like to do the same, with both re-signing with the Heat for the 2006-07 season.
The championship marks the seventh win for Coach Pat Riley (fifth as a head coach), and fourth title to Shaquille O'Neal, both of whom fulfilled their promise to the citizens of Miami in 1995 (when Riley first came to Miami and said he "envisioned a parade on Biscayne Boulevard") and in July 2004 (when Shaq first came to Miami and vowed to "bring the title home"). Shaq also promised after the win to win the NBA championship again in 2007.
Many basketball fans and commentators still question the legitimacy of Miami's Championship victory. Many Dallas fans felt that they were robbed of a possible victory in the Finals. Most attributed this to the poor refereeing that seemed to have taken place in the Finals in which the Heat were given an extremely disproportionate number of foul calls in comparison to the Dallas Mavericks. In many of the games Dwyane Wade's free throw totals more than exceeded the entire total of the opposing Mavericks team. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was so upset and disgruntled with the NBA's treatment of the situation that he nearly sold the Mavericks in the following off-season but declined to do so because of his displeasure in dealing with the league's often overbearing front office.
[edit] 2006/2007 Season
The Heat got off to a poor start in the 2007 season losing to the Chicago Bulls by 42 points (66-108), which is the worst margin of defeat for a defending champion on opening day in history. The Heat were without all-star Shaquille O'Neal who was sitting out much of the first half of the season with an injury. Key members of the Heat's championship run last season, particularly Antoine Walker and Gary Payton, were fortunately finding themselves on the bench more often at the expense of the Heat's exciting young duo of Jason Kapono and Dorell Wright.
The rest of the season's first half brought more turmoil to Miami. Coach Riley took an indefinite leave, Dwyane Wade briefly injured his right wrist, and James Posey and Antoine Walker were delisted after failing a body mass exam. With the assumption of its first head coach, Rothstein, on an interim basis, both Posey and Walker have been reinstated on the team. Also, former Heat star Eddie Jones re-signed with the team after being released by the Memphis Grizzlies. Shaq returned to the Heat in January. Coach Pat Riley returned head coach at the start of the second half of the season. On February 21 in a game against the Houston Rockets, Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder and had to leave in a wheel chair. Dwyane Wade announced that he will rehabilitate the separated shoulder allowing him to make it back for the playoffs.
After Wade's injury, many sportswriters predicted the Heat would free fall themselves out of the playoffs. However, those predictions were quickly proven wrong as the Heat surged thereafter, winning 11 out of 14 games with Wade out of the lineup. In that time, Miami posted a nine-game winning streak (defeating such teams as the Pistons, Wizards, Bulls and Jazz), in addition to winning 14 straight games at home. Shaquille O'Neal has been a primary cause for the Heat's resiliency, playing his best basketball of the season and serving as a focal point of the offense. Having a roster laded with veterans and former All-Stars has also had a notable benefit in dealing with the loss of Dwyane Wade. Currently, the Heat are in a late season struggle with the Wizards for the Southeast Division title.
[edit] Trivia
- Dwyane Wade's jersey was the best-selling for 2005–2006 season. [2] [3]
- For seven games in the 2005–06 season, the Heat wore 1971–1972 Floridians jerseys as part of the NBA's Hardwood Classics series. Additionally, the Heat dance team also wore the Floridian bikinis and white go-go boots during these games. [4]
- During the 2004–05 season, the Heat's roster contained the first three players selected in the 1992 NBA Draft, the first time ever for any NBA team in the case of any draft:
- Shaquille O'Neal (1st overall selection of the Orlando Magic)
- Alonzo Mourning (2nd overall selection of the Charlotte Hornets)
- O'Neal and Mourning were also teammates on the Heat's 2005-2006 NBA Championship team, with O'Neal generally starting at center with Mourning as his backup.
- Christian Laettner (3rd overall selection of the Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Further, at various points over the 14 years since the 1992 NBA Draft, Miami has had 9 out of the first 12 players selected in that draft on their roster: O'Neal (2004—present), Mourning (1995–2003, 2005- present), Laettner (2004–05) Jim Jackson (2001–02), LaPhonso Ellis (2001–03), Walt Williams (1996), Todd Day (1997–98), Clarence Weatherspoon (1998–2000) and Harold Miner (1992–95).
- The Heat retired Michael Jordan's number 23 jersey for his contributions to the NBA, even though he never played for them. When first hung, it was half Wizard blue and half Bull red, however it is now an all red Chicago Bulls jersey.
- In the year 2006, not only did the Heat win their first ever NBA Championship, but the organization's cheerleading/dance team, the Heat Dancers, were the #1 dance team in the NBA as voted by the NBA fans, and one of the Heat Dancers (Layla El) won the WWE Diva Search and is currently on the roster of Extreme Championship Wrestling as a result.
- Sometimes the Heat wear black jerseys instead of white at home games.
[edit] Season-by-season records
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss %
| Season | W | L | % | Playoffs | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Heat | |||||
| 1988–89 | 15 | 67 | .183 | ||
| 1989–90 | 18 | 64 | .220 | ||
| 1990–91 | 24 | 58 | .293 | ||
| 1991–92 | 38 | 44 | .463 | Lost First Round | Chicago 3, Miami 0 |
| 1992–93 | 36 | 46 | .439 | ||
| 1993–94 | 42 | 40 | .512 | Lost First Round | Atlanta 3, Miami 2 |
| 1994–95 | 32 | 50 | .390 | ||
| 1995–96 | 42 | 40 | .512 | Lost First Round | Chicago 3, Miami 0 |
| 1996–97 | 61 | 21 | .744 | Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Miami 3, Orlando 2 Miami 4, New York 3 Chicago 4, Miami 1 |
| 1997–98 | 55 | 27 | .671 | Lost First Round | New York 3, Miami 2 |
| 1998–99 | 33 | 17 | .660 | Lost First Round | New York 3, Miami 2 |
| 1999–2000 | 52 | 30 | .634 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Miami 3, Detroit 0 New York 4, Miami 3 |
| 2000–01 | 50 | 32 | .610 | Lost First Round | Charlotte 3, Miami 0 |
| 2001–02 | 36 | 46 | .439 | ||
| 2002–03 | 25 | 57 | .305 | ||
| 2003–04 | 42 | 40 | .512 | Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Miami 4, New Orleans 3 Indiana 4, Miami 2 |
| 2004–05 | 59 | 23 | .720 | Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Miami 4, New Jersey 0 Miami 4, Washington 0 Detroit 4, Miami 3 |
| 2005–06 | 52 | 30 | .634 | Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Won NBA Finals |
Miami 4, Chicago 2 Miami 4, New Jersey 1 Miami 4, Detroit 2 Miami 4, Dallas 2 |
| 2006-07† | 39 | 34 | .534 | ||
| Totals | 751 | 766 | .495 | ||
| Playoffs | 53 | 49 | .520 | 1 Championship | |
† – Season in progress; updated April 2, 2007.
[edit] Current roster
Stats updated January 4, 2007
| Miami Heat Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Pat Riley | Edit | |||
| C | 30 |  |
Earl Barron | (Memphis) |
| C | 51 | |
Michael Doleac | (Utah) |
| PF | 40 | |
Udonis Haslem | (Florida) |
| SG | 6 | |
Eddie Jones | (Temple) |
| SF | 24 | |
Jason Kapono  |
(UCLA) |
| C | 33 | |
Alonzo Mourning | (Georgetown) |
| C | 32 | |
Shaquille O'Neal-Captain | (LSU) |
| G | 20 | |
Gary Payton | (Oregon State) |
| F/G | 42 | |
James Posey | (Xavier (Ohio)) |
| G | 11 | |
Chris Quinn | (Notre Dame) |
| PF | 25 | |
Wayne Simien |
(Kansas) |
| SG | 3 | |
Dwyane Wade-Captain |
(Marquette) |
| F | 8 | |
Antoine Walker | (Kentucky) |
| PG | 55 | |
Jason Williams | (Florida) |
| F/G | 1 | |
Dorell Wright | (South Kent Prep HS, Lawndale, California) |
| - Denotes Injury |
Miami Heat | |||
[edit] Coaches
Insert non-formatted text here
| Coach | Seasons active |
|---|---|
| Ron Rothstein | 1988/89 – 1990/91; 2007 during Riley's 6-week leave of absence |
| Kevin Loughery | 1991/92 – 1994/95 |
| Alvin Gentry | 1995 |
| Pat Riley | 1995/96 – 2002/03 |
| Stan Van Gundy | 2003/04 – 2005 |
| Pat Riley | 2005/06—Present |
[edit] Notable past players
- Bruce Bowen
- PJ Brown
- Caron Butler
- Rasual Butler
- Ricky Davis
- Brian Grant
- Voshon Lenard
- Brad Lohaus
- Jamal Mashburn
- Harold Miner
- Rony Seikaly
- Tim Hardaway
- Lamar Odom
- Glen Rice
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Heat Information
- HeatMania - because You're Addicted!
- A blog about the Heat
- MiamiHeatwave.com Fan site dedicated to the Heat
- A Wiki dedicated to the Heat
| Preceded by San Antonio Spurs 2005 |
NBA Champions Miami Heat 2006 |
Succeeded by reigning champions |
