Bet on NBA Basketball

After Early Struggles, Miami Proves It's Tough To Beat The HEAT
The Miami Heat came into the NBA for the 1988-89 season as part of a two-phase league expansion that also included the Orlando Magic, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Charlotte Hornets. After spending its first few years in the cellar, the franchise began to make progress thanks to a series of shrewd draft selections. Although the Heat failed to achieve a winning season during their first five campaigns, the team stayed close to the break-even point and made it into the playoffs faster than any of its expansion peers.

The campaign to install an NBA franchise in Miami began in the mid-1980s. The two main movers were Zev Buffman, a producer of stage extravaganzas, and Billy Cunningham, an NBA Hall of Famer and successful head coach. In 1987 the NBA voted to expand by four teams. Charlotte and Miami were admitted for the 1988-89 season after paying an entry fee of $32.5 million apiece, and Orlando and Minnesota came aboard the following year.
Miami's front-office strength lay in the basketball savvy of part-owner Cunningham. After a distinguished college career at the University of North Carolina, he had been a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers. He played 11 years with the Sixers and with the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association, was named to the 1966 NBA All-Rookie Team, made four All-NBA squads, and in 1972-73 was named Most Valuable Player in the ABA. In 1977 Cunningham became head coach of the 76ers. During his career he compiled a 454-196 record for a .698 winning percentage. He guided the team to three NBA Finals and an NBA championship in 1982-83.

The expansion draft wasn't very productive for Miami, but the Heat did nab Billy Thompson and Jon Sundvold, both of whom gave the young team some stability. Miami fared better in the 1988 NBA Draft. With the ninth selection the Heat chose Rony Seikaly, a 6-11 center from Syracuse University. Miami used another first-round selection (20th overall) to acquire shooting guard Kevin Edwards of DePaul. In the second round the Heat picked Grant Long, a powerful 6-9, 230-pound forward from Eastern Michigan University who later developed into one of the team's most effective players.

Expansion teams are rarely competitive, and the inaugural Miami squad, coached by former Detroit Pistons assistant Ron Rothstein, was no exception. The Heat finished 15-67, which was not entirely unexpected, but the team took first-year losing to new extremes in the early part of the season.

1988-89: Victory Hard to Come By
The Heat lost their first NBA game, 111-91, to the Los Angeles Clippers on November 5 before a Miami Arena sellout crowd of 15,008. The starting lineup was Rory Sparrow, Edwards, Seikaly, Pat Cummings, and Thompson. A minute into the game, Sparrow hit a jump shot to record the first points in Heat history.

There was nothing unusual about that opening loss-it happens all the time to new teams. But then the club kept losing. It lost at home and away; it lost close games (96-94, to the Sacramento Kings) and blowouts (138-91, to the Los Angeles Lakers). On December 10 the Chicago Bulls hammered the Heat, 111-88, and put Miami in the all-time record book for the most defeats ever at the start of a season, with 16. The previous mark had been shared by three teams: the Denver Nuggets in 1949 (that franchise folded after one season); the Cleveland Cavaliers, in their expansion season of 1970; and Philadelphia in 1972, on its way to the worst won-lost mark in NBA history (9-73).

After 17 consecutive defeats, the team's first victory came on December 14 as Miami squeaked by the Clippers, 89-88. The Heat struggled through another 10-game losing skid into mid-January. Overall, January was a rough month, with the Heat chilling to 1-13. February and March brought progress, as the team improved to 9-20 for the two months and delivered some decent performances. On February 20 Kevin Edwards posted the Heat's highest individual scoring effort of the season when he poured in 34 points against the New Jersey Nets.

Miami had its most productive outing of the year on March 10 with a 131-130 double-overtime victory against Denver. In late March the team put together a modest three-game winning streak, its longest of the campaign, but immediately relapsed into a 2-12 skein to end the schedule. An individual highlight came on April 18 when guard Rory Sparrow posted the first triple-double in Heat history by scoring 24 points, dishing out 10 assists, and pulling down 10 rebounds in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Miami managed only 97.8 points per game, led by Edwards with 13.8 points per contest. Opponents poured in 109.0 points per game. The team MVP was dependable all-around performer Grant Long, who played in all 82 games and averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. Edwards was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

1989-91: A Productive Draft, But An Unproductive Season
The 1989 NBA Draft brought 6-8, 220-pound forward Glen Rice, the fourth overall pick. Rice had left the University of Michigan as the Big Ten Conference's all-time leading scorer and had led the Wolverines to the NCAA Championship that spring. The Heat also selected Sherman Douglas, a 6-1 guard from Syracuse University, in the second round.

Miami moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division for the 1989-90 season. The team improved its record slightly, advancing three games in the win column to 18-64. That total, one game better than New Jersey's, enabled the Heat to escape the Atlantic Division cellar. Once again the year included some prolonged losing skids: 9 games in November and December, 13 games in December and January, and another 9 games in March and April as the season waned. The Heat never won more than two games in a row.

The team, however, did manage to turn in occasional highlights. On February 2 the franchise enjoyed its largest margin of victory with a 126-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. In a February 13 game against Chicago, Rony Seikaly scored 40 points, becoming the first player to reach the 40-point mark in Heat history.

Seikaly was named the NBA's Most Improved Player at season's end. After spending his rookie year adjusting to the league, he began giving some lessons of his own in 1989-90, and he improved his output in nearly every statistical category. He scored 16.6 points per game (up from 10.9 the previous year) and pulled down 10.4 rebounds per contest (up from 7.0 ) to rank sixth in the NBA. Sherman Douglas was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 assists.

The 1990-91 Heat continued to show modest improvement but still finished in last place in the Atlantic Division at 24-58. Miami got off to a decent start, with a 5-9 record in November, but the team opened December with a 10-game slide and never righted itself.

Douglas led Miami with 18.5 points and 8.5 assists per game and provided solid floor leadership throughout the year. Glen Rice began to reveal his scoring skills, ringing up 17.4 points per game, while Seikaly continued his labors in the paint, averaging 16.4 points and 11.1 rebounds.

1991: Loughery Brings Thick Resume To Miami
After the season Ron Rothstein resigned as coach and was replaced by Kevin Loughery, who brought 29 years of NBA experience as a player, coach, scout, and broadcaster. Loughery had begun his career in 1962, when he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons. Traded to Baltimore, he spent eight years with the Bullets before finishing his playing career in Philadelphia. He averaged 15.3 points in 11 years as an NBA player.
Loughery's coaching career began in 1972-73, when he took over as player-coach of the 76ers for the final 31 games of the season. The following year Loughery moved to the American Basketball Association, where he coached Julius Erving and the New York Nets to a 168-84 record and two championships in his three seasons in the ABA. When the Nets joined the NBA, Loughery stayed with them for five more seasons.

Between 1981 and 1988 he put in stints at the helm of the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls, and the Washington Bullets before retiring to the broadcasters' bench.

1991-92: Miami Makes Playoffs, But Can The HEAT Beat Michael?
In the 1991 NBA Draft the Heat selected Steve Smith, a multifaceted guard from Michigan State. The young, talented squad matured into a competitive unit in 1991-92, improving its record by 14 games to 38-44. Miami finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and made the playoffs for the first time ever.

The Heat got off to an 8-7 start, the best in its four-year history. In January, Miami engineered the only major trade of its early years when the team sent Sherman Douglas to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brian Shaw. Shaw, a 6-6 guard, was a talented defender and capable outside shooter who had averaged 7.6 assists for the Celtics in 1990-91. Once in Miami, Shaw joined the 6-8 Smith to form one of the tallest backcourts in the league.

In the second half of the season Glen Rice emerged as the team's top scoring threat. On April 11 Rice set a new Miami single-game scoring record with 46 points against Orlando. He also had games of 36 and 34 points that week, and he was named the NBA Player of the Month for April.

The Heat hovered just under .500 for most of the year. Miami's home record was a solid 28-13, but the team was still struggling on the road, with a 10-31 mark. Despite the Heat's losing record for the season, Cleveland's defeat of Atlanta on the last day of the campaign allowed Miami to snatch the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Miami was the first of the four late-1980s expansion teams to reach the postseason.

The Heat's playoff experience, however, was short-lived. No amount of enthusiasm or luck could help the club against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, whose 67-15 record was the league's best. Chicago steamrolled Miami in three straight games. The quick exit did little to dampen the thrill of the successful season, however, and the franchise looked to the future with optimism.

Glen Rice paced the team in scoring in 1991-92, averaging 22.3 points to finish 10th in the NBA. Rony Seikaly added 16.4 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Injuries limited Steve Smith to 61 games, but he nonetheless earned a berth on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Smith contributed 12.0 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game.

1992-93: Rice Cooks
In 1992-93 the Heat dipped slightly to 36-46 and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division. The team got off to a sluggish start, logging a 13-27 record through January. Miami's early-season struggles were aggravated by the injury bug. Steve Smith missed the first 34 games of the season after arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He came back in January, but then versatile third-year man Willie Burton injured his wrist. After playing only 26 games, Burton was lost for the season.

When Smith returned the team got hot, posting consecutive winning months in February and March (including a six-game winning streak) before ebbing in April. Again, Miami managed to avoid the prolonged losing streaks that can sink a struggling team's season.

On February 3 Rice poured in 45 points against Atlanta, coming within a single point of his own team record. Two weeks later Smith compiled the second triple-double in club history when he recorded 21 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against Denver. A few weeks after that, Rony Seikaly yanked down 34 rebounds against Washington, the first 30-board game in Heat history and the highest total in the NBA that season. And on April 8 Brian Shaw set an NBA record when he dialed long distance for 10 three-pointers against the Milwaukee Bucks, breaking the previous mark of 9 shared by Dale Ellis and Michael Adams.

Although the team was becoming more consistent, there were still up and down stretches. In March, Miami won all seven of its home games. But the year wound down on a negative note, with a five-game losing streak in mid-April. Rice averaged 19.0 points to top seven Heat players in double figures, and his 148 three-pointers ranked fourth in the league. Despite its sub-.500 record, the team was seen as an up-and-coming collection of young talent, with better days ahead.

1993-94: Best Season Yet For HEAT
Better days did come along in 1993-94. The Heat posted its best season ever, finishing 42-40 and sneaking into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Miami put a scare into the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in a first-round series. The Heat won Game 1 (the first playoff win in franchise history) and Game 3 before the Hawks rallied to win the final two contests and take the series.

For the season, Glen Rice was the team's scoring leader with 21.1 points per game, 10th best in the league. Rony Seikaly pulled down a team-high 10.3 rebounds per game, and the Heat led the league in team free throw percentage at .785. In the offseason talented young guard Steve Smith participated on Dream Team II, the United States squad that won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball.

1994-95: HEAT Cooled Off By Franchise Overhaul
The Miami Heat made significant roster changes early in the 1994-95 season, trading away Rony Seikaly, Steve Smith, and Grant Long and acquiring Billy Owens and Kevin Willis. There were also changes in the club's management. On February 13 the Arison family purchased all of Lewis Schaffel's and Billy Cunningham's interest in the team, leaving Marilyn Arison, wife of founder Ted Arison, with 88 percent of the Heat ownership. Micky Arison was named the club's managing general partner. The next day the Heat named Dave Wohl executive vice president of basketball operations and replaced Coach Kevin Loughery with Alvin Gentry. Loughery accepted a position in the Heat front office. The final result was a 32-50 season, a drop of 10 games from 1993-94.

Willis and Glen Rice were among the league's highest-scoring duos early in the campaign, but injuries hindered Willis, who averaged 17.2 points and 10.9 rebounds in 67 games. His rebounding average would have tied him for fifth in the NBA, but he didn't have enough boards to qualify among the league leaders. Rice stroked the ball all season, finishing ninth in the NBA in scoring at 22.3 points per game. In a nationally televised game against the Orlando Magic on April 15, he set a franchise record by scoring 56 points, the league's highest individual point total in a single game all year. In the first season with the shortened three-point arc, Rice placed 16th in the league in three-point percentage (.410) and ranked among the NBA's top 10 in three-pointers made (185). At midseason he won the NBA Long Distance Shootout at All-Star Weekend.

Owens, who played mostly at off guard, averaged 7.2 rebounds to lead all NBA guards. The club also received sound play from rookie Khalid Reeves, who averaged 9.2 points and 4.3 assists. At season's end Gentry was relieved of his coaching duties.

1995-96: Riley, HEAT Return to Playoffs
The 1995 offseason was a busy time for the Heat, who made two major acquistions that changed the entire complexion of the team. On September 2, the Heat hired Pat Riley as the team's president and head coach. Riley, architect of the "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980s and four 50-win New York Knicks teams in the early 90s, brought 13 years of coaching experience in which his teams had never failed to make the playoffs.
On Nov. 3, on the eve of the regular season, Riley engineered a blockbuster deal that sent Glen Rice, Matt Geiger and Khalid Reeves to Charlotte in exchange for Pete Myers, LeRon Ellis and All-Star Center Alonzo Mourning. Riley, who built the Lakers around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Knicks around Patrick Ewing, now had another franchise center around which to build.

Riley wasn't through. On February 22, just before the trading deadline, Riley made three more deals, acquiring Tim Hardaway, Chris Gatling, Walt Williams, Tyrone Corbin and Tony Smith. By the team the regluar season ended, only Keith Askins remained from the previous year's team. Despite using 22 players over the course of the season, Riley guided the Heat to a 42-40 record, equalling the best in team history.

Leading the way was Mourning, who became the first Heat player to score 50 points in a game (3/29/96) and finished the season as the first Miami player to lead the league in scoring (23.2 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). Hardaway, rekindled after a trade from the Warriors, finished the season 8th in the NBA in assists.

Miami's reward for a winning season was a first-round matchup with the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, who made quick work of the Heat in a three-game sweep. Several players were free agents at the end of the season, meaning that once again, the Heat franchise would take on a whole new look in the offseason.

1996-97: HEAT Rises to Verge of Title
The 1996-97 Miami Heat were the NBA's biggest surprise, and the league's most improved team. In charging to a franchise-best 61-21 record, the Heat posted the third longest road winning streak in NBA history (14 games), captured the Atlantic Division title and improved the previous season's record by 19 games. The only thing that stood between the Heat and its first appearance in the NBA Finals was the Chicago Bulls, who defeated Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Coach Pat Riley orchestrated his 13th division title in 15 seasons with a pair of All-Stars and a cast of role players who routinely stepped up when called upon. Tim Hardaway, the team's emotional leader on the floor, emerged early in the season as a candidate for Most Valuable Player (he would finish fourth in the voting). The fiery point guard, who was almost not re-signed during the offseason, led the team in scoring (20.3 ppg) and assists (8.6 apg) and was among the league's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.02-to-1). Alonzo Mourning's success inside complemented Hardaway's shooting and playmaking. Mourning averaged 19.8 ppg and 9.9 rpg and was fourth in the NBA with 2.86 blocks per game.
The role players included Voshon Lenard, who emerged as one of the NBA's top three-point shooters, versatile Dan Majerle, and backup center Isaac Austin, who lost 80 pounds, filled in admirably when Mourning was down with an injury, and was named the league's Most Improved Player. Jamal Mashburn, acquired just prior to the trading deadline, provided another scoring threat to ease the offensive burden on Hardaway and Mourning, and P.J. Brown added rebounding and toughness, which served the Heat well during playoff matchups that went the limit against the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks. Miami, which trailed 3-1 to New York in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, won three straight games to earn a berth against the Bulls. Chicago, winners of 69 games during the regular season, ousted Miami for the second consecutive season.

1997-98: HEAT Turns 10; Continues to Win
As the Miami Heat franchise celebrated its 10-year anniversary, Pat Riley's troops also faced the weight of high expectations. With an established core of NBA veterans, a legendary coach and a never-say-die philosophy, Miami posted 55 wins and win its second straight Atlantic Division title.
The season began with center Alonzo Mourning on the injured list following offseason knee surgery. Mourning missed the first 22 games of the season, but the Heat got off to a 15-7 start in his absence. Once healthy, Mourning had another fine season for the Heat, averaging 19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 2.24 bpg, ninth in the NBA, and also ranking third in the league in field goal percentage at .551.

Once again, Isaac Austin shined in Mourning absence. The 6-11 Austin, whose dogged effort transformed him from an overweight project to a key NBA reserve, was traded in midseason. Faced with losing Austin to free agency, the Heat sent Austin, rookie Charles Smith and the Heat's 1998 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for swingman Brent Barry.

Despite dealing Austin and losing small forward Jamal Mashburn for two months with a broken thumb, the Heat responded with its best basketball, going 20-4 after the trade and getting improved production from Mourning, forward P.J. Brown (9.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg for the season) and guard Voshon Lenard, who averaged 12.6 ppg, and ranked sixth in the NBA in three-point field goals made with 153.

Miami's emotional leader was once again guard Tim Hardaway, who led the Heat in assists at 8.3 apg (6th in the NBA) and averaged 18.9 ppg, earning his fifth All-Star selection. He hit a buzzer-beater to spoil Washington's home opener on November 1, nailed a game-ending three-pointer on November 15 and hit what proved to be the game-winner in an 82-81 over New York on April 12.

While Miami won that battle with New York, the Knicks would win the war. The two Atlantic Division foes renewed their fierce postseason rivalry in the first round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs. Only one year after their controversial seven-game series, the Knicks and Heat battled once again. Lenard was particularly effective in the Heat's first two playoff games, scoring 25 and 28 points -- but the Heat managed only a split at home. The teams also split a pair of games at Madison Square Garden, but an altercation late in Game 4 proved lethal for the Heat. Mourning was suspended for the deciding game after a fight with New York's Larry Johnson. Miami lost the deciding game by a score of 98-81.

1998-99: Mourning Glorious, But End is Bitter
Alonzo Mourning was already a star, but the Miami Heat center got even better.

Mourning finished second in MVP balloting as he led the Heat to a 33-17 record, best in the Eastern Conference. The lockout-shortened season ended in disappointment, however, when Miami lost to New York in the first round of the playoffs.

Miami was less than a second away from eliminating the eighth-seeded Knicks. Allan Houston proved to be the hero of the deciding game, as he hit a running one-hander with 0.8 seconds to play to give New York a 78-77 victory.

Mourning, who averaged 20.1 points and a career-best 11.0 rebounds for the season, earned All-NBA First Team honors for the first time in his seven-year career. Utah's Karl Malone was the only player who fared better in MVP balloting.

Mourning led the league with 3.91 blocks per game and was named Defensive Player of the Year after receiving 89 of 118 possible votes. It was the most lopsided result in the 17-year history of the award.

Point guard Tim Hardaway averaged 17.4 points and 7.3 assists and secured a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. Forward P.J. Brown was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.

Two Miami starters missed more than half the season. Guard Voshon Lenard was on the sideline for 35 games with a stress fracture in his left leg, and forward Jamal Mashburn was out for 26 games because of a thigh injury.

The Heat wrapped up their last full season in Miami Arena. The team was scheduled to move into AmericanAirlines Arena early in the 1999-2000 season.

1999-2000: A New Millennium Begins In A New Arena
On January 1, 2000, the Miami HEAT moved into South Florida's premier waterfront showplace: the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Arena holds 20,500 basketball fans and is home to the Miami HEAT and the WNBA's Miami SOL. Miami HEAT President and Head Coach Pat Riley closed out the regular season just one win shy of 1,000 career wins. Riley compiled a 999-433 record in 1,432 career games as an NBA coach.

Miami HEAT assistant coach Bob McAdoo, a three-time NBA scoring champion and two-time NBA champion with the Lakers, was elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on May 24, 1999. McAdoo was among six inductees in the Class of 2000. McAdoo, a 14-year NBA veteran, averaged 22.1 points, 9.4 assists and shot 50.3 percent (7,420-14,751) from the floor during his career.

For the second consecutive season, Alonzo Mourning was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He received 62 out of a possible 121 votes form a panel of sports writers and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Mourning edged out Shaquille O'Neal (21 votes), Dikembe Mutombo (11) and Eddie Jones(11). Mourning, who blocked a career-high 294 shots, became the sixth repeat winner in NBA history. Mourning was selected to the NBA All-Defensive team as well.

Mourning also finished third in Most Valuable Player voting in 2000. He was topped only by winner Shaquille O'Neal and runner-up Kevin Garnett.

When the HEAT and Jazz clinched divisional titles on Apr. 16, they became the 10th and 11th teams in history to win four or more consecutive NBA divisional championships.

Prior to this season, there had never been an occasion in the NBA where two teams had met postseason play in four consecutive seasons and had the series go to the maximum number of games in each of the four series. This season marked the fourth straight year the Knicks and HEAT had met in postseason play and the fourth straight year the series went to the maximum number of games.

2000-01: HEAT Shines Even In Dark Hours
After capturing Olympic glory at the 2000 Summer Games, Alonzo Mourning missed the first 69 games of the season after being diagnosed with the kidney disorder focal glomerulosclerosis. Mourning made his 2000-01 debut against Toronto on March 27 and appeared in Miami's final 13 games. In those 13 games, Mourning averaged 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and and a team-high 2.38 blocks per game.

Even in Mourning's abscence, the Miami HEAT continued its winning ways. The HEAT's 103-91 win over the Orlando Magic in the final game of the season marked Miami's 50th win of the 2000-2001 campaign. The 50 wins represented the fourth highest single-season total in franchise history. This was due in part to the array of weapons the team acquired over the summer of 2000. The additions of Anthony Mason, Brian Grant and Eddie Jones allowed the team to surpass expectations and make the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.

HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley earned his 1,000th career win on opening night vs. the Magic, becoming only the second coach in NBA history to earn 1,000 victories. Along the way, he has coached against every team in the league and has amassed 40 or more victories against 11 teams. By guiding the HEAT to a berth in 2001 Playoffs, Riley also kept his record of leading teams to the playoffs intact. Riley lead each of his 19 teams to the playoffs, which set an NBA record for most consecutive trips to the playoffs. The previous high for consecutive playoff appearances was 18 straight, set by Red Auerbach from 1949 through 1966 (one with Washington, one with Tri-Cities and 16 with Boston).

Tim Hardaway started all 367 games in which he played for the HEAT, which placed him fourth on the HEAT's all-time games started list. HEAT assistant coach Keith Askins is the HEAT's all-time leader in games played at 486 and games started with 461.

2001-02: HEAT Fights For Position
During the summer of 2001, the Miami HEAT traded long-time point guard Tim Hardaway to Dallas in a sign-and-trade deal in which they acquired a second-round draft choice in either 2003 or 2004 and a trade exception. The team also selected Ohio State University center Ken Johnson with the 49th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft. The HEAT brought in veteran free agents Rod Strickland, LaPhonso Ellis and Kendall Gill to support stars Eddie Jones and Brian Grant. Alonzo Mourning also returned to the HEAT for the entire 2001-2002 season after missing the first 69 games of the 2000-01 campaign.

On November 6, the HEAT defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 87-85 in overtime, at the AmericanAIrlines Arena to record the 500th win in franchise history. On December 2nd, the HEAT signed free agent Jimmy Jackson to bolster the bench. The HEAT would struggle, though, throughout December. By December 30th, the HEAT was 5-23. After that point, the HEAT would pick-up in intensity as the squad reeled off a 26-12 record to bring its record to 31-35 by March 20th and was within a few games of the final playoff spot. The HEAT stumbled after that point as the Toronto Raptors grabbed the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The HEAT ended the season with a 36-46 record, 18-23 on the road and 18-23 at home.

As the team struggled, HEAT players and staff continued to reach impressive milestones. Guard Rod Strickland moved into sole possession of seventh place on the the NBA°s all-time assists list, surpassing Lenny Wilkens, with his first assist of the night and 7,212th of his career with 8:54 remaining in the opening quarter of Miami°s 92-79 home victory over Chicago. Radio Announcer Josÿ PaËeda broadcasted his 1,000th HEAT game in Spanish as Miami defeated Orlando 112-95 on February 13th. LaPhons Ellis was named the winner of the NBA°s 2001-2002 Atalntic Division Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals on the court. Alonzo Mourning was selected as a reserve for the 2002 Eastern Conference All-Star team, marking the seventh appearance in his career. The NBA named Alonzo Mourning the recipient of the NBA°s 2001-02 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding community service.

2002-03: The Butler Era Begins
On June 26, 2002 the HEAT selected University of Connecticut forward Caron Butler with the 10th pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and LaSalle University forward Rasual Butler with the 53rd pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. Caron and Rasual impress during summer league play and are both signed by August 15th.

Due to a drop in in his body chemistry levels, the HEAT announce center Alonzo Mourning will be out indefinitely starting September 12, 2003. The Miami HEAT would miss the center mightily, as the team struggled to a 25-57 season without their veteran leader. Alonzo Mourning would miss the entire 2002-03 season. Despite losses, since Pat Riley took the reigns of the HEAT organization in September of 1995 the HEAT produced the eighth best record in the NBA over that eight-year period and the third best mark in the Eastern Conference.

The HEAT had other bright spots as well. Caron and Rasual Butler were rookie standouts through 82 games. Caron (78 gms) made the biggest splash by leading all rookies in minutes played, scoring and steals. As a result of his outstanding play through the first four months of the season, Caron was named the got milk? Rookie of the Month for November, January, February and March. With his torrid scoring pace during the month of March, Caron Butler recorded the highest scoring average of any rookie during the 2002-03 season with his 20.1 points per game average. He scored 321 points with nine games of 20 or more points and scored in double-figures with at least 11 points in all 16 games he played in for the month. Caron quickly made his mark on the Top 5 of the all-time HEAT rookie list in free-throw percentage (1st), steals (2nd), free-throws made (1st), free-throw attempts (2nd), minutes (1st) and offensive rebounds (3rd ). He moved into first place on the all-time HEAT rookie-scoring list after his 19-point effort on versus Washington on April 11.

Brian Grant stood out on the team, continuing his effective play by scoring and rebounding. Grant recorded 31 double-doubles on the season. His last one of the season came, when he pulled down 10 rebounds and scored 16 points versus Toronto on April 8, 2003. On March 8th versus the Denver Nuggets HEAT center Brian Grant recorded his 26th double-double of the season after scoring 16 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. That double-double marked the first time in his career, that he recorded six consecutive double-doubles and the third time during the 2002-03 season, that he recorded at least five consecutive double-doubles. He recorded 79 double-doubles with the franchise and 152 over his NBA career. Grant climbed to fourth all-time on the Miami°s double-doubles list, 19 behind Grant Long for third place who recorded 97 total. He also recorded 46 double-figure rebounding games.

HEAT head coach Pat Riley recorded his 1,100th career victory on Jan. 22, 2003 versus the Phoenix Suns. He recorded his first win on Nov. 20, 1981 after his then Lakers team defeated the San Antonio Spurs 136-116 in Los Angeles. He recorded his 500th win at Indiana on Jan. 24, 1990, 120-111 and his 1,000th win versus Orlando on Nov. 2, 2000.