The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami....
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the...
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The Heat play their home games at American Airlines Arena, and have won three NBA championships.
The franchise began play in the 1988–89 NBA season as an expansion team. After a period of mediocrity, the Heat gained relevance during the 1990s following the appointment of former head coach Pat Riley as team president. Riley constructed the high-profile trades of Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, which immediately propelled the team into playoff contention. Mourning and Hardaway led the Heat to four division titles, prior to their departures in 2001 and 2002. The team experienced renewed success after drafting Dwyane Wade in 2003.
Led by Wade and following a trade for former NBA Most Valuable Player Shaquille O'Neal, Miami won their first NBA Finals in 2006, under Riley as head coach. After the departure of O'Neal two years later, the team entered into another period of decline for the remainder of the 2000s.
