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FRANCHISE

NBA franchise story

Miami Heat

Miami's history is Pat Riley's continuing project: hard conditioning, star power and rapid reinvention from Mourning and Hardaway to Wade, the Heatles and the improbable Butler-era Finals runs.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Miami Heat.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Miami Heat official team history ↗
The beginning↓
01▼

Franchise era

1988–89—1994–95

01
MIARICE41Glen Rice
MIASEIKALY4Rony Seikaly
MIASMITH3Steve Smith

Building a basketball market

Expansion in South Florida

The Heat endured early losses, then reached their first playoffs behind Rice's shooting and Seikaly's interior play.

Read the era story →

Chapter 01

1988–89—1994–95

02▼

Franchise era

1995–96—2002–03

02
MIAMOURNING33Alonzo Mourning
MIAHARDAWAY10Tim Hardaway
MIAMASHBURN24Jamal Mashburn

Defense creates the first contender

Riley, Zo and Hardaway

Riley remade Miami around defense and toughness, reaching the 1997 conference finals and forging the franchise's lasting identity.

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Chapter 02

1995–96—2002–03

03▼

Franchise era

2003–04—2009–10

03
MIAWADE3Dwyane Wade
MIAO'NEAL32Shaquille O'Neal
MIAHASLEM40Udonis Haslem

A young guard, Shaq and the 2006 comeback

Wade delivers the first title

Wade became a superstar beside O'Neal and authored a commanding Finals comeback for Miami's first championship.

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Chapter 03

2003–04—2009–10

04▼

Franchise era

2010–11—2013–14

04
MIAJAMES6LeBron James
MIAWADE3Dwyane Wade
MIABOSH1Chris Bosh

Four Finals, two titles and maximum attention

The Heatles

James and Bosh joined Wade, producing a positionless superteam that won consecutive championships and reshaped player empowerment.

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Chapter 04

2010–11—2013–14

05▼

Franchise era

2014–15—2018–19

05
MIADRAGIĆ7Goran Dragić
MIAWHITESIDE21Hassan Whiteside
MIARICHARDSON0Josh Richardson

Development keeps the culture intact

The reset without collapse

Miami stayed competitive through abrupt change, using conditioning and development to find value outside the lottery.

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Chapter 05

2014–15—2018–19

06

Franchise era

2019–20—present

06
MIABUTLER22Jimmy Butler
MIAADEBAYO13Bam Adebayo
MIAHERRO14Tyler Herro

Undrafted depth and improbable Finals runs

The Butler and Bam teams

Butler and Adebayo led two Finals appearances as Miami repeatedly outperformed its seed with defense, shooting and belief.

Read the era story →

Chapter 06

2019–20—present

◆Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Miami Heat games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Eastern Conference Finals

Eastern ConferenceFinals
2013
GAME1
INDIANAPACERS
MIAMIHEAT
MAY 22, 2013

Pacers vs Heat

May 22, 2013

#02 · Eastern Conference Finals

Eastern ConferenceFinals
2014
GAME5
MIAMIHEAT
INDIANAPACERS
MAY 28, 2014

Heat vs Pacers

May 28, 2014

#03 · NBA Finals

NBA Finals
2013
GAME6
MIAMIHEAT
SAN ANTONIOSPURS
JUN 18, 2013

Heat vs Spurs

Jun 18, 2013

#04 · NBA Finals

NBA Finals
2006
GAME3
MIAMIHEAT
DALLASMAVERICKS
JUN 13, 2006

Heat vs Mavericks

Jun 13, 2006

#05 · NBA Finals

NBA Finals
2011
GAME2
DALLASMAVERICKS
MIAMIHEAT
JUN 2, 2011

Mavericks vs Heat

Jun 2, 2011

Season history

Past seasons

38 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Miami Heat games

3,348 total · loaded 10 at a time