Miami Heat is a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team competes in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Heat play in the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Miami entered the NBA for the 1988-1989 season. The Heat became a dominant team in the Eastern Conference during the 1990’s. The team won or tied for a division championship four successive seasons from 1996-1997 through 1999-2000 under coach Pat Riley. Stars of those teams included center Alonzo Mourning, forward Jamal Mashburn, and guard Tim Hardaway. Miami won the Southeast Division championship in 2004-2005, led by center Shaquille O’Neal and guard Dwyane Wade. In the playoffs, the team was defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the Detroit Pistons. In 2006, Miami won its first NBA championship, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2 in the playoff finals.
Erik Spoelstra succeeded Riley as the Heat’s coach prior to the 2008-2009 season. Before the start of the 2010-2011 season, Miami signed all-star forwards LeBron James and Chris Bosh as free agents. The Heat reached the finals of the playoffs in 2011, losing to Dallas, 4 games to 2. Miami won the 2011-2012 championship, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals, 4 games to 1. The team won the championship again in the 2012-2013 season, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the finals, 4 games to 3. In 2014, Miami made the championship finals for the fourth straight season, losing to the San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1. Miami returned to the NBA finals in 2020, led by forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 2. The team made the finals again in 2023 but lost to the Denver Nuggets, 4 games to 1.
