Miami Heat Fleece: Square

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:

• P.J. Brown (1997-2000)

• Brian Grant (2001-04)

• Tim Hardaway (1996-2001)

• Eddie Jones (2002-05, 2007-)

• Dan Majerle (1997-2001)

• Jamal Mashburn (1997-2000)

• Alonzo Mourning (1996-2002, 2005-)

• Gary Payton (2006-)

• Shaquille O'Neal (2005-)

• Glen Rice (1990-95)

• Rony Seikaly (1989-1994)

• Steve Smith (1992-94, 2005)

• Dwayne Wade (2004-)

• Kevin Willis (1995)

The design of the Miami Heat NBA Fleece: Square fabric is composed of #46 jerseys, basketballs, blue backboards, basketballs swishing through nets, the Heat's logo and the team's mascot: Burnie over a black and crimson background. The print also includes the NBA's logo.

This Miami Heat Fleece: Square fabric is licensed by the NBA and is for individual consumption. Any other use of this NBA polar fleece fabric is prohibited and illegal. The Miami Heat fleece fabric is not suitable for children's sleepwear.