The Miami Heat (often stylized in all caps as HEAT) is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conferenceof the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play their home games at the American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami. The team owner is Micky Arison, who also owns cruise-ship giant Carnival Corporation. The team president and de facto general manager is Pat Riley, and the head coach is Erik Spoelstra. The mascot of the team is Burnie, an anthropomorphic fireball.

The Heat were formed as part of the NBA's plan to expand the league in the late 1980s with four expansion franchises, which included the Heat along with Charlotte Hornets in 1988, and the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989. Among those four teams, Miami has been the most successful, winning over 1,000 regular season games, making 17 playoff appearances, winning 10 division titles, three conference titles and two NBA Finals. The Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals 4–2, lost to the Mavericks 4–2 in the 2011 NBA Finals and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1 in the 2012 NBA Finals. According to Forbes, as of 2013, the Heat ranked sixth in terms of NBA franchise value at $625 million.[1][2] The Heat are not related to the former Miami ABAfranchise from the early 1970s, the Miami Floridians. The Heat has however paid tribute to the Floridians franchise in the past by wearing a replica version of the Floridians home and away uniforms for the NBA's "Hardwood Classics Nights" for the 2005–06 and 2011–12 seasons.

Franchise history
An expansion team formed in 1988, the Miami Heat began its early years with much mediocrity, only making the playoffs twice in its first eight years and falling in the first round both times, despite individual success from its players. Upon the purchasing of the franchise by Micky Arison in 1995, Pat Riley was brought in as its team president, general manager and head coach. In that same year, Riley acquired center Alonzo Mourning and point guard Tim Hardaway to serve as the centerpiece for the team, transforming Miami into a championship contender throughout the late 1990s. The 1996-1997 season was marked by a franchise record 61 wins and 21 losses; they achieved their first two postseason victories and made it to the Conference Finals, despite bowing out in five games. Their biggest rivals of the time were the New York Knicks, Riley's former team, who would eliminate the Heat in the first round from 1998 through 2000.

A period of mediocrity followed shortly thereafter, including missing the playoffs altogether in 2002 and 2003. In the 2003 NBA Draft with the fifth overall pick Miami selected shooting guard Dwyane Wade out of Marquette and the Heat also signed free-agent swing-man Lamar Odom from the Los Angeles Clippers. Just a few days before the start of the 03-04 season Riley would step down as head coach to focus on rebuilding the Heat, and would promote Stan Van Gundy to be head coach. In 2004 behind Van Gundy's leadership, Wade's stellar rookie season, and with Odom's break out season the Heat were back in the playoffs beating the New Orleans Hornets 4-3 in the 1st round and losing to the Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the 2nd round. In the 04-05 season following a summer blockbuster trade for Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference and the team rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs and went back to the Conference Finals for the first time in eight years, ultimately losing to the Detroit Pistons in a heartbreaking seventh game in Miami. In the summer of 2005 Riley once again rebuilt the roster around O'Neal and Wade and brought in veterans such as Gary Payton, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams. After a sub-par 11-10 start to the 05-06 season Riley would relieve Van Gundy of his duties and stepped back onto the sidelines. The Heat got back to the Conference Finals in 2006, and avenged their loss against the Pistons, winning the series 4-2. Going into the franchises first finals appearance pitted against the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat were routed the first two games in Dallas, before taking the next three games back home in Miami and ultimately capping the series with a game 6 95-92 victory back in Dallas capturing the franchises first championship. Wade would go on to earn the Finals MVP award for his efforts throughout the finals.

A four-year tenure of post-title struggles befell the Heat from 2007 through 2010, including a 4-0 sweep by the Chicago Bulls in the 1st round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. In the 07-08 season as Wade was plagued by injuries, Miami would hit rock bottom with a league worst 15-67 record and O'Neal was traded to Phoenix midway through the season. Riley resigned as head coach following the season but retained his position as team president and general manager and focused on rebuilding the Heat. Long time assistant Erik Spoelstra was promoted to head coach and along with a healthy and re-invigorated Wade, the Heat won 43 games in 2009 and 47 games 2010 and made the playoffs both years albeit losing in the 1st round both times.

In the summer of 2010 the Heat pulled off a blockbuster signing of free agents Chris Bosh from the Toronto Raptors and LeBron James, and managed to re-sign their own free agent Dwyane Wade. Amid intense media scrutiny and criticism all season, Miami reached the 2011 NBA Finals, their second Finals appearance in franchise history, and it was rematch with their 06 Finals counterpart the Dallas Mavericks. Miami took a 2-1 lead in those Finals including a game 3 win in Dallas but would go on to lose 3 straight games after that and ultimately the series including game 6 back in Miami . In 2012 the Heat returned to the Finals, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. With that win, Miami became the first team to win a title after falling behind in three different playoff series. These include 2-1 against the Indiana Pacers, 3-2 to the Boston Celtics and 1-0 against the Thunder. This was the second time Miami swept the three home games in the Finals; the first was in 2006.

During the 2012-2013 season, the Heat amassed a franchise record 27 game winning streak that started on February 3, 2013 against the Toronto Raptors and would end on March 27, 2013 in a 101-97 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The streak lasted 52 days, and ranks second all-time in NBA history behind the 1971-1972 LA Lakers 33 game winning streak. It was the longest winning streak in the NBA in 40 years following the streak made by the Houston Rockets.
In the 2013 Playoffs, the Heat swept the Bucks in the first round. Then went on to defeat the Chicago Bulls in a brutally physical second round, 4-1. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced the Indiana Pacers...

Jerseys
The original Miami Heat uniforms consist of simple striping, exclusive only on the right side of the jersey and shorts. The home uniforms were white with lettering in red, black and orange trim, while the away uniforms were black with red, white and orange trim; the numbers were white with red, black and orange trim, using the same font as the classic Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. The original 'flaming ball' logo is on the left leg of the shorts while the word 'Miami' is on the right leg. In the 1995–96 NBA season the Heat introduced a red alternate uniform with lettering and numbers in black, white and orange trim. The original white and red uniforms were reintroduced as throwback uniforms during the Heat's 20th and 25th anniversary seasons, respectively.

The current Heat uniforms have been in use since the 1999–2000 season. These uniforms, though similar, have marked differences such as striping on both sides, change from orange to yellow trim, updated lettering and block numbers, and a modified 'flaming ball' logo on the right leg. The black away uniform numbers are now consistent with the lettering colors (white with red trim). The alternate red uniform was introduced during the 2001–02 NBA season, and features the city name and numbers in white with black trim. They were also the only team in the NBA to have the NBA logo on the right shoulder instead of the left, until the introduction of the Adidas Revolution 30 uniforms in 2010 which regulated all teams to have the NBA logo on the left shoulder. In the 2009–10 season, the red alternates were tweaked to include the "MH" secondary logo on the left leg; the 'MH' was also added on the beltline for the away and home uniforms, the 'flaming ball' logo was also moved to the left leg. For the 2012–13 season, the city name (Miami) replaced the team name on the black away uniforms. Similar to the Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic, the Heat had a dress code that prohibits players from wearing headbands on the court. Since then, however, the Heat have allowed the use of headbands, beginning with Jermaine O'Neal in 2009 and continued with the additions of LeBron James, Eddie House, Erick Dampier and Mike Bibby.

Since the 2008 season, the Heat participated in the NBA's Noche Latina promotions, or Latin Nights. In commemorating the occasion, they use their black away uniforms, but with the wordmark "El Heat".
In the 2011–12 season, the Heat planned to wear a 4th all-black alternate home jersey in addition to the existing 3 white, black and red road uniforms. These uniforms were unveiled in 2010 as exclusive fan apparel rather than for game use, but the Heat have planned to wear them in selected home games of the 2011–12 season (against higher ranked teams like the Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, Mavericks, Lakers etc.). These uniforms are in black and white trim; the lettering, logos and numbers traced only in white.[3]

The Heat wore a variation of their current home uniforms on the opening night of the 2012–13 season, with gold accents and a patch of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy on the right chest.

The Heat unveiled a new all-white home alternate uniform in the 2012–13 season. The uniform is similar to their current home uniform, but with the lettering and logos only traced in black. This was to pay tribute to their 'White Hot' promotion during their two championship runs. They began wearing the alternates on November 24, and will wear them every Saturday home game thereafter, except for the December 6 game against the Knicks, the February 10 game against the Lakers, and the March 1 game against the Grizzlies, all of which were televised nationally. They were also worn on March 25 in a road game against the Magic. The Heat also wore the 'White Hot' jerseys at home during the first two games of the 2013 NBA Playoffs.

An all-red uniform, known as 'Big Color', was worn on Christmas Day against the Thunder, a rematch of the 2012 Finals. The uniform is entirely red, with the lettering and logos traced in white.

The Heat have also honored the ABA's Miami Floridians by donning throwback uniforms; first the road jerseys in the 2005–06 season, then the home jerseys in the 2011–12 season.

Rivalries

New York Knicks
The rivalry between the New York Knicks and the expansion Miami Heat was a result of their history-making brutally physical four consecutive playoff series from 1997 to 2000. Each series went to the maximum number of games. The rivalry's central figure was Pat Riley, the head coach of both teams (the early 90s for the Knicks and the late 90s for the Heat). Jeff Van Gundy took over Riley's stint as head coach of the Knicks, while his elder brother Stan Van Gundy was simultaneously an assistant coach for the Heat. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning, friends from their Georgetown college basketball period. Larry Johnson, one of the Knicks, held bad blood with Mourning as far back as their days in theCharlotte Hornets. The first two years were marked by physical violence during the series, with suspensions to players that ultimately determined the outcome. Some of the rivals' most memorable moments came when Jeff Van Gundy latched onto Mourning's leg during an altercation; when Charlie Ward collided with P.J. Brown, who flipped Ward over his head and body-slammed him; when Pat Riley leaned against the wall in defeat after Mourning was ejected in a fight with Larry Johnson; when Tim Hardaway vanquished the Knicks in 1997 after Mourning sat with his fifth foul; and when Latrell Sprewell taunted the fans after Allan Houston's game winning shot in 1999. In 1997, the Heat became one of the (as of now) eight teams to win a series after trailing 3-1, while the Knicks of 1999 became the second eighth seed to upset the 1st seed in league history.

In recent years, the rivalry has reignited with the Heat signing LeBron James (after much speculation that he would join the Knicks) and Chris Bosh while the Knicks signed Amar'e Stoudemire and traded for Carmelo Anthony. They met in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, where the Heat won in five games.

Chicago Bulls
The rivalry with the Chicago Bulls began once the Miami Heat became contenders during the 1990s, a decade dominated by the Bulls, and the advent of the Michael Jordan era. During that period, the Heat were eliminated three times by the Bulls, who would go on to win the NBA championship each time. After Jordan retired and the Heat's fall in the early 2000s, the rivalry cooled but slightly picked up when the Heat faced them in the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs, which ended in a 4–2 Heat series victory and went on to win the NBA Finals, the Bulls would sweep the defending champion Heat in the first round the next season.

The rivalry has intensified with the resurgence of the Bulls, and the emergence of Derrick Rose and the Heat re-signing Dwyane Wade (who turned down a chance of joining his hometown Bulls) with newly acquired superstars in Chris Bosh andLeBron James (who spurned a chance of teaming up with Rose in Chicago). The revived rivalry has been very physical, involving rough plays and hard fouls between players. Both teams met in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Heat winning in five games.

The Bulls ended the Heat's record-setting 27 game win streak on March 27, 2013, with a 101-97 victory at the United Center in Chicago.[4] Despite playing without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, and Marco Belinelli, the Bulls managed to end the second longest win streak in basketball history.[5]

The rivalry would continue into the 2013 NBA Playoffs when the Heat would play the Bulls in the second round. The Bulls ended another Miami Heat winning streak by beating the Heat 93-87 in game 1. The Heat came back in game 2 and set a record for the largest margin of victory in franchise playoff history with a 115-78 win. The Bulls also set a record for the worst playoff defeat in franchise history. The 51 personal fouls were the most in a playoff game since 1995. In Game 3, Nazr Mohammed was ejected for shoving LeBron James early in the first quarter. Norris Cole had his jersey ripped by Carlos Boozer while driving to the basket for a layup. Joakim Noah was seen applauding and cheering on the image ofChris Bosh arguing with Mario Chalmers. Noah received a technical foul for shoving Chris Andersen after he fell on Nate Robinson. Chalmers received a flagrant foul for ringing his arm around Noah's neck. Taj Gibson and Noah were both ejected in the same game for yelling at the refs. In the end, Miami would win in five, with their Game 3 victory in particularly being both their highest margin of victory in the postseason, as well as the Bulls' worst loss in the postseason.

Boston Celtics
The two teams first squared off in the playoffs in 2010, with the Celtics defeating the Heat four games to one en route to an eventual NBA Finals appearance by the Celtics. Having suffered first round losses in three straight years, it was the loss to the Celtics that prompted Dwyane Wade to declare that the loss would be "my last" in the first round for the near future.

LeBron James' own enmity with the Celtics can be found as far back as his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Celtics upset the Cavaliers in 2008 and 2010. Among the two Heat stars, Wade went as far as to say that he personally hates the Celtics, with James' own disdain for Boston manifesting in how he referred to the Celtics exclusively as "that team" in 2011. With the acquisition of both James and Chris Bosh in 2010, the Heat challenged the Celtics for dominance in the Eastern Conference; James claimed that the formation of the Heat's Big 3 was to mirror the formation of the Celtics' Big 3 in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. After dropping the first three games versus the Celtics in the regular season, Miami prevailed in their fourth encounter, taking the 2nd seed from the Celtics and gaining home court advantage for their eventual match-up of the postseason.

The teams met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, where Paul Pierce was ejected in Game 1, Dwyane Wade inadvertently broke Rajon Rondo's arm in Game 3 and James scoring the final ten points in the deciding Game 5. James could be found roaring to the fans as the Celtics' end came, even kneeling to the ground in relief after finally defeating the Celtics. The rivalry would continue in the following season, where the Heat again took home court advantage over the Celtics, though Boston again won the season series over the Heat. Despite the loss of Bosh to injury in the Semifinals, the Heat took a 2-0 lead before the Celtics won the next three games; the first five games included two overtimes, Rondo's 44 point performance in Game 2, as well as Pierce and James fouling in Game 4. James' 45 point performance in Game 6 at Boston forced a deciding seventh game, where the two teams traded blows deep into the third and fourth quarters, before Miami pulled away with a 4-3 victory en route to the NBA Finals.
In the offseason, the Celtics' Big 3 was broken up following Ray Allen's joining of the Heat. When asked about their immediate reactions to their teammate leaving for their rival, Kevin Garnett claimed that he deleted Allen's phone number, while Paul Pierce admitted that it "hurt", though he still considers Allen "a brother to me" for their 2008 championship run. Although the two teams would not meet in the playoffs, the animosity continued in their four regular season games. The season opener - a Heat victory - included Rondo clothes-lining Wade's neck, Garnett snubbing a handshake from Allen pre-game, Allen jokingly admitting that he had trouble differentiating who he was supposed to guard, and Garnett throwing an elbow at Mario Chalmers, for which both Celtics were received technical fouls.

During Miami's 2013 Streak, Paul Pierce went on record to say that he wished for Miami to lose all of its remaining games by that point. When James voiced his displeasure over the Chicago Bulls' physicality against him, Boston's general manager Danny Ainge called it "embarrassing" for LeBron to complain about it. Pat Riley, the Heat team president, retorted that "Danny should shut the fuck up." The teams met during the Streak, where it was five years to the day that the Celtics' stopped the Houston Rockets' own 22-game winning streak. It ended in a Heat victory, one that featured James dunking on Jason Terry; he received a technical foul for staring down at Terry post-dunk. When asked about it after the game by reporters, James stated that he was "glad it happened to him".

Indiana Pacers
A recent, if brewing rivalry was triggered with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Although the two previous met in the 2004 NBA Playoffs (where Indiana won 4-2), the only two players still left from either teams are Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem of the Heat. Both head coaches were fined for statements made relating to the officiating: Frank Vogel called the Heat "the biggest flopping team in the NBA" before the series started, while Erik Spoelstra took offense to what he perceived to be deliberate head-hunting of his players on the part of the Pacers. Indiana took a brief 2-1 lead after Miami's Chris Bosh was sidelined with an abdominal strain. Powered by an impeccable tag-team from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Miami would cap off 3 straight to take the series 4-2. This series was marked by several confrontations, suspensions and flagrant fouls between the players: Tyler Hansborough's flagrant foul on Dwyane Wade (which drew blood), UdonisHaslem's retaliatory flagrant foul on Hansborough (which led to Haslem's Game 6 suspension), Wade colliding with Darren Collison in transition, Juwan Howard confronting Lance Stephenson over the latter's flashing of the choke sign to James and Dexter Pittman elbowing Stephenson in the neck (which led to his own three-game suspension). Indiana's Danny Granger received technical fouls in three consecutive games for his confrontations with Heat players; he stripped James of his headband in Game 2 while attempting to block a shot, pulled the back of LeBron James' jersey in Game 3 while trying to stop a fast-break, and chest-bumped Dwyane Wade in Game 4 after the latter was fouled by Roy Hibbert.

The following season saw improvements for both teams, from Miami's acquisition of Ray Allen and Chris Andersen, to the emergence of Paul George and Lance Stephenson. It was a three-game season series, where the Pacers took the first two games at Indiana, though before Andersen came to Miami. Notably, it was after the Heat lost to the Pacers that they compiled a 27 game winning streak; one of the wins came against the Pacers at Miami. In that game, the Pacers deliberately chose to practice their pre-game shots in front of the Heat bench, forcing the Heat to take their practice shots in front of the Indiana bench; a passive aggressive way for the Pacers to get in the Heat players' heads before the game.

The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers will meet again in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs on May 22nd, 2013.

Home arenas
• Miami Arena (1988–1999)
• American Airlines Arena (2000–present)

Radio and television
Main article: List of Miami Heat broadcasters
The Heat's flagship radio stations are WAXY (790 AM) in English,[6] with Mike Inglis and John Crotty calling games, and WQBA (1140 AM) in Spanish, with Jose Paneda and Joe Pujala on the call.
The Heat games are televised primary by Sun Sports with Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino. Previously, WBFS-TV, WFOR-TV, and WAMI-TV have all aired some games. Games are occasionally televised by TNT, ESPN, or ABC.
From 1988–1993, the Heat were on WQAM. WINZ previously aired games from 1993–1996 and WIOD did from 1996–2008.

Honored numbers
13 - Dan Marino - Miami Dolphins (NFL). (The number is not retired and still available to use by the Heat players.)
Notable former players

• Alonzo Mourning was a center, traded to Miami from the Charlotte Hornets in 1995. He played until 2001, but returned in 2004 and remained until 2008. As the co-captain along with Hardaway, Mourning averaged a double-double with the Heat, and was noted for his intimidating shot-blocking. A 5 time All Star and 2 time Defensive Player of The Year (1999 and 2000), Mourning finished second in MVP voting in 1999, behind Karl Malone. Mourning is the all-time franchise leader in rebounds (4807) and blocks (1625). His 9459 points were the most in franchise history until Dwyane Wade passed him on March 14, 2009. His jersey No. 33 was retired at American Airlines Arena on March 30, 2009, and he currently works for the team as VP for Community Relations.

• Tim Hardaway was a point guard, traded from the Golden State Warriors to Miami in 1996 and played until 2001. Famous for his crossover dribble, Hardaway was once the all-time leader in assists for the Heat with 1,947, until his total was surpassed by Dwyane Wade on January 16, 2010. As a co-captain along with Mourning, Hardaway led the Heat to some of the franchise's best seasons, including four straight division titles and an appearance in the Conference Finals. His game-winner against the Orlando Magic in the 1997 playoffs earned the first ever playoff series win for the Heat. He remains their all-time leader in three-point field goals (806). His jersey No. 10 was retired at American Airlines Arena on October 28, 2009.

• Rony Seikaly was a center, selected ninth as the franchise's first ever draft pick. He set numerous first records for the Heat. Named Most Improved Player in 1990, the Heat's first ever NBA individual or team award. Played from 1988 through 1994; was traded to the Golden State Warriors.

• Glen Rice was a forward, selected 4th overall by Miami in 1989 and playing until 1995. After averaging 13.6 points per game in his rookie season, Rice consistently averaged over 20 points per game for his remaining five seasons in Miami. He once scored 56 points in a regular season game versus the Orlando Magic, which remains a franchise record.

• Grant Long was a forward, selected 33rd overall by the Heat in their first draft. Played from 1988 through 1994. Known for aggressive defense and strong rebounding.

• Steve Smith was a shooting guard, selected 5th overall in 1991, and played for Miami until 1994. Consistently averaged double-digit points per game, even up to 20.5 in his final season. The disastrous trade that sent Smith (and Grant Long ) to Atlanta for a rapidly declining Kevin Willis proved to be a turning point for the franchise, as it was one of the key events leading to the organization's hiring of Pat Riley.

• Shaquille O'Neal was acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004, playing until 2008. O'Neal was a key figure in the Heat's consecutive runs to the Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006 and a championship in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

• Eddie Jones was a guard-forward, acquired from the Charlotte Hornets in 2000 and played for Miami until 2005, with a second stint in 2007. The South Florida native was a three-time NBA All-Star and routinely defended the opposition's best perimeter player while a member of the Heat.

• Brian Grant was a forward-center, acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000, and played for Miami until 2004, when he was a part of the trade that brought Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat. His time with the Heat was defined by his solid defensive play, especially in the absence of Alonzo Mourning, and his leadership both on and off the court.

• Lamar Odom was acquired before the 2003-04 season from the Los Angeles Clippers when Miami made him a restricted free-agent offer that the Clippers didn't match (they did match a massive Heat offer sheet at the same time to Elton Brand). Odom turned out his underachieving career with an outstanding season as the Heat returned to the playoffs, and the team had plans for Odom and Dwyane Wade as centerpieces of their return to championship contention. However, when Shaq became available as the Lakers decided to move on without him, Miami rejected their request to include Wade in a trade package; the Heat reluctantly offered Odom as the center of the deal, and he and Shaq traded places. Odom considered returning to Miami when he became an unrestricted free-agent after the 2008-09 season but re-signed with the defending champion Lakers.

• Caron Butler was a lottery pick after the Heat's subpar 2001-02 season. Butler made the All-Rookie team and while he slumped in 2003-04 due to injuries, he would have remained a key part of Miami's plans if not for the Shaq deal (similar to Lamar Odom).

• Dan Majerle was a shooting guard and a small forward, traded to Miami from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1996, playing until 2001. Made a career out of his perimeter sharpshooting, defensive mindset and accuracy with three pointers, but was noted for remarkable ball-handling and passing skills. Was an All-Star in 1995. Began his stint as a sixth man, but quickly made his way into the starting lineup.

• James Posey was part of the 5-team, 13-player deal that remade the Heat before the 2005-06 season. Posey was a solid role player who became one of the Heat's best assets as they ran towards the 2006 title. Posey would later prove a similarly beloved and clutch asset on another title team, the 2008 Boston Celtics.

• Antoine Walker joined the 2005-06 team and was viewed warily due to his checkered time in Boston, mainly his defensive issues and obsession with shooting three-pointers. However, Walker was a terrific role player on the 2006 championship team and shone with a 14-point, 11-rebound gem of a Game 6 when Miami won their first title in Dallas. Walker would return in 2007 but after that season ended disappointingly, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

• Jamal Mashburn was a small forward, traded to Miami from the Dallas Mavericks in 1997 and played until 2000. As an athletic, high-scoring swingman, Mashburn was a skilled ball-handler, an aggressive defender and a sharpshooting threat, especially from the three-point line.

• Voshon Lenard left the minor-league Continental Basketball Association to sign with the Heat in 1995. Emerged as a three-point shooting threat and a determined defender. Averaged 12.3, 12.6 and 11.9 points per game in his second, third and fifth seasons with Miami. Most memorable for double-punting the game-winning field goal on December 10, 1996, at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

• PJ Brown was a forward-center traded to Miami from the New Jersey Nets in 1996 and played until 2000. Starting off as something of an enigma to the Heat,[citation needed] Brown quickly proved to be one of their more athletic players, and gained a reputation for his focus on rebounding, blocking shots and hustling for loose balls. Famous for lifting Charlie Ward over his shoulder after the Knick rammed himself onto his hip after a Miami free throw.

• Gary Payton was nearing the end of his eventually Hall of Fame career, having had a phenomenally good career with the Seattle SuperSonics before having disappointing years on teams where he sought to win an elusive championship ring (notably the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers and 2005 Boston Celtics). Payton became a solid role player on the 2006 Heat and made two unforgettable clutch shots to seal victories in Games 3 and 5 of the 2006 Finals.

• Harold Miner was a shooting guard and a small forward, selected 12th overall by Miami in 1992 and playing until 1996. Despite a largely lackluster career, Miner was famed for his dunking prowess; he remains the only Heat player to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which he did twice, in 1993 and 1995.

Head coaches
There have been six head coaches for the Miami Heat. Ron Rothstein was the franchise's first head coach, serving from 1988 through 1991; he remains as assistant coach. Kevin Loughery was his successor from 1991 to 1995, guiding the Heat to their first two playoff berths in 1992 and 1994. Loughery was fired 46 games into the 1994-1995 season, posting a 17-29 record. Alvin Gentry, an assistant coach who joined in 1991, was brought in to replace Loughery on an interim basis. Miami went 15-21 for the final 36 games, and Gentry moved to the Detroit Pistons the following season.

In the summer of 1995, owner Micky Arison hired Pat Riley as the head coach and team president. At eleven years, Riley is the longest tenured head coach in the franchise's history, as well its all-time leader in total wins and games coached. Upon suffering a 25-57 record in the 2002-2003 season, Riley abruptly announced his retirement, but remained as team president. He elevated assistant coach Stan Van Gundy as his replacement. Van Gundy is Miami's all-time leader for the highest winning percentage in the regular season (.605), having led Miami to a 42-40 record in his first season and a 59-23 record in his second year. He spearheaded Miami's 2005 campaign, where they held the top seed in the east, swept their first two playoff opponents and made it to the Conference Finals.

An 11-10 record early into the 2005-2006 season prompted Riley to come out of retirement and replace Van Gundy. Shortly thereafter, Riley would win his fifth and final championship as a head coach, as well as Miami's first championship in 2006. Riley would retire permanently following the 15-win 2007-2008 season, but once again remained as team president. His hand-picked replacement, longtime assistant Erik Spoelstra, is the current Heat head coach, a position he's held since 2008. At 38, he was the youngest head coach in the league at the time, as well as the first Filipino-American head coach in league history. Throughout his brief tenure, Spoelstra has not missed the playoffs, even taking the team to consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, culminating in a championship in 2012.

Individual awards
NBA Most Valuable Player
• LeBron James – 2012, 2013
NBA Finals MVP
• Dwyane Wade – 2006
• LeBron James – 2012
NBA All-Star Game MVP
• Dwyane Wade – 2010
NBA Scoring Champion
• Dwyane Wade – 2009
NBA Defensive Player of the Year
• Alonzo Mourning – 1999, 2000
NBA Most Improved Player Award
• Rony Seikaly – 1990
• Isaac Austin – 1997
Best NBA Player ESPY Award
• Dwyane Wade – 2006
• LeBron James - 2012
NBA Coach of the Year
• Pat Riley – 1997
NBA Executive of the Year
• Pat Riley – 2011
J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
• P. J. Brown – 1997
• Alonzo Mourning – 2002

All-NBA First Team
• Tim Hardaway – 1997
• Alonzo Mourning – 1999
• Shaquille O'Neal – 2005, 2006
• Dwyane Wade – 2009, 2010
• LeBron James – 2011, 2012, 2013
All-NBA Second Team
• Tim Hardaway – 1998, 1999
• Alonzo Mourning – 2000
• Dwyane Wade – 2005, 2006, 2011
All-NBA Third Team
• Dwyane Wade – 2007, 2012
NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Alonzo Mourning – 1999, 2000
• LeBron James – 2011, 2012, 2013
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• P.J. Brown – 1997, 1999
• Bruce Bowen – 2001
• Dwyane Wade – 2005, 2009, 2010
NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Sherman Douglas – 1990
• Steve Smith – 1992
• Caron Butler – 2003
• Dwyane Wade – 2004
• Michael Beasley – 2009
NBA All-Rookie Second Team
• Kevin Edwards – 1989
• Glen Rice – 1990
• Willie Burton – 1991
• Udonis Haslem – 2004
• Mario Chalmers – 2009
NBA All-Star Skills Challenge Champion
• Dwyane Wade – 2006, 2007
NBA All-Star Three-point Shootout Champion
• Glen Rice – 1995
• Jason Kapono – 2007
• Daequan Cook – 2009
• James Jones – 2011
NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest Champion
• Harold Miner – 1993, 1995
NBA All-Star Shooting Stars Contest Champion
• Chris Bosh – 2013
NBA All-Star selections
• Dwyane Wade – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• Alonzo Mourning – 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002
• Shaquille O'Neal – 2005, 2006, 2007
• LeBron James – 2011, 2012, 2013
• Chris Bosh – 2011, 2012, 2013
• Tim Hardaway – 1997, 1998
• Anthony Mason – 2001
• Stan Van Gundy – 2005 (As coach.)
• Erik Spoelstra – 2013 (As coach.)