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An expansion team formed in 1988, the Miami Heat began their early years with much mediocrity, only making the playoffs two times in their first eight years and falling in the first round both times.

1995-2003: Title hopefuls

Upon the purchasing of the franchise by Micky Arison in 1995, Pat Riley was brought in as the team president and head coach. 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 Heat underwent a dramatic turnaround in the 1996–97 season, improving to a 61–21 record a franchise record at the time. The Heat acheived their first two victories in the playoffs making it to the conference finals before getting beat by the bulls in five games they would never make it past the eastern conference finals and didn't make it to the playoffs all together in the 2002-2003 season.

2003-present: Dwyane Wade era

In the 2003 NBA draft, with the fifth overall pick Miami selected shooting guard Dwyane Wade out of Marquette. Pat Riley would step down as head coach and promote Stan Van Gundy as head coach. Behind Van Gundy's leadership and Wade's amazing rookie year the Heat made it to the 2004 playoffs but were beat by the Pacers in the second round. In the offseason Pat Riley got an amazing trade with the Los Angles Lakers and aqquired all-star center Shaquille O'Neal. In the 2004-2005 season the Heat improved their record to 59-23 made it to the Eastern Conference Finals but lost to Detriot in seven games.

2005-06 Championship season

With Dwyane Wade and Shaq returning and Pat Riley signing a lot of veteran players. Riley rellived Van Gundy of his position and went back as the head coach. The Heat made it to the conference finals avenging their loss to the pistons and made their first ever finals apperence facing up against the Dallas Mavericks, who won their first two games in dallas but on the back of made miami won four straight and became NBA champions. Dwyane Wade took home the finals mvp award.

2006-10: Post-championship struggles

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 playoffs. In the 07–08 season, Wade was plagued by injuries, prompting Miami to hit rock bottom with a league worst 15–67 record. 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. Long time assistant Erik Spoelstra was promoted to head coach. A healthy and re-invigorated Wade led the Heat to 43 wins in 2009 and 47 wins 2010, making the playoffs in both years, though they would lose 4–3 in 2009 and 4–1 in 2010. Wade was the scoring champion in 2009 and the NBA All-Star MVP in 2010.

2010-2014: The Big 3 Era

Entering the 2010–2011 season with nearly $48 million in salary cap space, the Heat caused a major power shift during the blockbuster 2010 NBA Free Agency, adding Chris Bosh and LeBron James to local superstar Dwyane Wade, starting the "Big 3" era. However, the Heat got off to an 8–14 start. The team finally pulled together The Heat finished with a 58–24 record and the 2nd seed. In the much anticipated 2011 NBA Playoffs, Miami defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals, and Bulls in the Conference Finals, all in 5 games. The Heat reached the 2011 NBA Finals for the first time since 2006, in a rematch against the Dallas Mavericks. After taking a 2–1 series lead, the Heat collapsed, as they would lose the final three games to the Mavericks. After the second NBA Lockout ended, the Heat would improve their roster by signing veteran Shane Battier. In the shortened 2011-2012 season, the Heat got off to a 27–7 start. However, they would struggle for the second half of the season, going 19–13. The Heat finished 46–20, earning the second seed in the east for the NBA playoffs. Reaching the NBA finals for the second straight year they beat Oklahoma in six games and LeBron won his first NBA championship. In the 2012-2013 NBA season they went on a 27 game winning streak and had a record of 66-16 the best in franchise history. they earned the first seed in the NBA playoffs and made it to the finals for the third year in a row defeating the San Antonio Spurs in seven games and won the franchises first ever back to back championships. In the 2013-2014 NBA season the Heat went 54-28 got the second seed in the NBA playoffs. Went to the finals for the fouth year in a row against the Spurs for a finals rematch they split the first two games but lost four straight and fell to the three-peat.

2014–present: Post-Big 3 era

On July 11, 2014, LeBron James announced on SI.com that after opting out of the final year of his contract, he would leave the Heat and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Wade and Bosh stayed in Miami, continuing without him. Like the Cavaliers in the 2010 off-season, the Heat focused on how it would maintain itself without LeBron. Wade and Bosh were joined by returning stars Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen and former rivals Loul Deng and Danny Granger. The Heat also acquired star rookies Shabazz Napier and James Ennis. Amid the departure of James, the Heat's off-season was rather hopeful due to the organization's handling of James' return to Cleveland.

 

 

 

Miami Heat all-time roster