Since the turn of the millenium, the Miami Heat have been one of the NBA’s upper echelon organizations. The Heat have made seven NBA Finals appearances while claiming three titles and boasting elite star power along the way. Miami has been a powerhouse franchise, but their championship years may not rank as high as expected.
Recently, the staff at CBS Sports ranked the NBA champions of the last 25 years, and only one of the Heat’s title-winning teams made the top 10.
#8 Miami Heat (2013):
“The 66 regular-season wins were by far the most the Big Three era in Miami, but the Heat won this ring by the skin of their teeth,” it wrote. “They failed to win two consecutive games against Indiana in the conference finals, where they needed seven games to get past young Paul George and company, and then we all know about Ray Allen's corner-3 miracle in the Finals with the Heat mere seconds from elimination.”
“That said, needing seven games to get past an opponent isn't necessarily an indictment of the dominance of the eventual victor. That Pacers team was very good, and the Spurs were great. Adding Allen to the roster was a big deal, and this was LeBron's fourth and final MVP season. Top to bottom, this was probably the best roster of the Heat's Big Three run.”
Coming off their 2012 Finals win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James and the rest of the crew certainly avoided a championship hangover. This is evidenced by a 66-win season which wasn’t just the most in the Heat’s Big Three era, it was the most in franchise history.
To say things got rocky in the postseason would be an understatement, but the Heat still hoisted their second-straight Larry O’Brien trophy.
#16 Miami Heat (2012):
After a dismal performance in the 2011 NBA Finals once again kept LeBron James from reaching the mountain top, he finally broke through alongside Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to capture the first ring of his career the following season.
However, LeBron’s self-imposed expectations on “The Heatles” may have made the moment more underwhelming.
“LeBron's first championship came a year later than expected, and it was much tougher sledding that the 4-1 win over the baby Thunder in the Finals would suggest on the surface. The Thunder won the first game of that series, and Kevin Durant missed a shot to tie Game 2 with less than 10 seconds to play. In fact, Games 2, 3 and 4 were all within three points or less with under 20 seconds to play. “
“It's not a knock on the Heat. It's merely to point out that they were never quite as dominant as everyone thought they would be when LeBron started rattling of his infamous "not three, not four, not five ..." ring claims.”
#24 Miami Heat (2006)
Before the Big 3, there was a young D-Wade and an aging Shaquille O’Neal who delivered the first title in franchise history. Wade was dominant, averaging 34.7/ 7.8/ 3.8 and winning Finals MVP.
“This was Dwyane Wade's official superstar coming-out party, and while Shaq was past his prime, he was still an All-NBA first teamer. This was end-of-career Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, as the Heat relied far more on the likes of Jason "White Chocolate" Williams, Udonis Haslem, James Posey and Antoine Walker.”
“That's a lot of big names, but this was an underdog team. This title qualified as something not too far from a world shocker (D-Wade might still be at the free-throw line) over a 60-win Dallas team that went up 2-0 in the Finals and had a 13-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 3.”