The Miami Heat is a team in the Eastern Conference of the NBA. The Heat fall into the sub-group of the Southeast division of the East. The team is owned by Micky Arison and the current head of the Heat is Erik Spoelstra. The team is located in Miami, Florida and their arena is known as the Kaseya Center.

Franchise History

The Miami Heat became a part of the NBA through an expansion that also brought three other teams along with them back in 1988. The team did not have much success in the first eight years of their tenure in the league. It wasn?t until Pat Riley took over the helm that the Heat saw some success.

Pat Riley could be credited to shaping up the Miami Heat franchise from the 90s. One of the most prominent figures in the NBA, Pat Riley instantly made some drastic changes to the team?s roster to make them a contender.

Riley went on to acquire Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway that became the two pillars the Heat relied on during the 90s and early 2000s. The team made the conference finals twice, only to be eliminated by other teams.

In 2003 started a new era for the Miami Heat when they went on to draft Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall pick. Wade went on to become the face of the franchise, pumping new air in a team full of veterans.

The Miami Heat traded for the reigning MVP, Shaquille O?Neal back in 2004 and then brought in another set of veterans in 2005. This led the team to their first ever Finals appearance and also their championship in 2006.

Though the Heat won their first title in franchise history, it was followed by a couple of mediocre years. This also included a sweep at the hands of the Chicago Bulls and one season with the worst record in the league due to constant injuries to Wade.

Eventually, the team traded away Shaquille O?Neal to the Phoenix Suns and Pat Riley stepped down as the head coach. This started the era of Erik Spoelstra in 2008 and the new-age Miami Heat.

With huge cap space in 2010, the Miami Heat were able to entice both LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the team. This formed the ?Heatles? and started the reign of the Heat in the league.

The Miami Heat made four straight NBA Finals appearances, winning two titles before finally the band broke off and LeBron James left to go back to his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since then, the team has managed to make it to the NBA Finals twice. However, another championship still eludes the Heat as they look to win it all this year as well after losing 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets a season before.

Current roster

Highest paid players

Achievements and history