The 1980
The 1980's were one of the more financially successful
periods in NBA history. It saw the emergence of some of its most marketable
teams such as the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons. The
1980's also witnessed the prime years or emergence of many of its most enduring
legends: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing,
Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone and Clyde Drexer among others.
Nevertheless, as popular as the NBA was not a single team was
located in Florida. In fact, the last notable professional team in Florida had
been the Miami Floridians, an ABA team from 1969 to 1972. Therefore, at the end
of the 1980's when the league was looking to expand further, two cities in
Florida were chosen for expansion teams. One of these cities was the Miami Heat.
The Heat experienced the struggles common to expansion teams
and made the playoffs only twice in their first seven years of existence,
despite solid seasons from Glen Rice, Steve Smith and Rony Seikaly. After a
disappointing 1994-95 season which saw the Heat miss the playoffs, team
ownership initiated substantial changes from the front office down.
For the 1995-96 season, coach Pat Riley was hired and,
together with new additions Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, led the Heat to
the first of six consecutive playoff berths. The 1996-97 season benefited from
the additions of Dan Majerle, Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown; with these pieces
in place the Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing in 5
games to the 69 win Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
After the missing the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, the Heat
began acquiring the players they would need to reach the postseason. In 2003,
the Heat drafted Dwayne Wade of Marquette University with the 5th pick. In 2004,
the Heat acquired Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers and the impact
was immediate, as the Heat went from a 42 win team to a 59 win team.
Nevertheless the Heat would fall in 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals to
eventual champions the Detroit Pistons.
The 2005-06 season started off much differently than had been
anticipated as the Heat went only 11-10. After Pat Riley returned to the bench
the team finished 41-20. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they exacted revenge
on the Pistons by eliminating them in 4 games. In the NBA Finals against Dirk
Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat battled back from an 0-2 deficit to
win the series in 6 games.
Notable players to have played for the Heat include:
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P.J. Brown (1997-2000)
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Brian Grant (2001-04)
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Tim Hardaway (1996-2001)
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Eddie Jones (2002-05, 2007-)
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Dan Majerle (1997-2001)
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Jamal Mashburn (1997-2000)
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Alonzo Mourning (1996-2002, 2005-)
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Gary Payton (2006-)
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Shaquille O'Neal (2005-)
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Glen Rice (1990-95)
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Rony Seikaly (1989-1994)
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Steve Smith (1992-94, 2005)
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Dwayne Wade (2004-)
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Kevin Willis (1995)
The design of the Miami Heat NBA fabric is composed of
black and dark red squares. Within the squares are jerseys, basketballs and the
Heat's logo.
This Miami Heat novelty fabric is licensed by the NBA and is
for individual consumption. Any other use of this NBA fabric is prohibited and
illegal. The Miami Heat cotton fabric is not suitable for children's sleepwear.