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Kaseya Center

On April 22, 1987, the NBA voted to expand the league into Miami. The Miami basketball franchise would be one of four new teams taking to the hardwood in 1988 and 1989. Miami joined Charlotte, Orlando, and Minneapolis as the NBA’s newest cities. 

Before expanding by four teams, the NBA had only 23 franchises, seven fewer than in 2023. It is a forgotten era of the NBA, one that was ruled by basketball dynasties, a lack of media coverage, and physically tough teams.

Initially, the NBA wasn’t too interested in expanding into Florida. Minneapolis and Charlotte appeared to be locks for new teams. The NBA’s board of governors was unable to select between the two Florida expansion groups, leading to a delay in the process. It is claimed neither Orlando nor Miami were on the NBA’s radar when the expansion process began. However, both cities impressed the NBA, leading to entry into the basketball league.

The Dallas Mavericks were the most recent NBA expansion team before the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets joined the league. The Mavericks arrived in 1980, eight years before the Heat and Hornets tipped off. The Miami Heat paid an expansion fee of $32.5 million. The Mavericks paid around $12.5m to get into the NBA. The increase in money showed the league’s profile moving to unparalleled heights. 

Miami began play in the Miami Arena, which had 15,184 seats and opened in 1988 in time for the Heat’s first season. The team had sold over 10,000 season tickets before news of the city receiving an NBA expansion team was announced. The fervor for major league basketball was high in Miami, with fans dedicated to the team before it had even played a single minute.

The interest in basketball was so high in Miami and Orlando that citizens, journalists, and sports radio DJs waged a war of words. The cities’ elected officials even got in on the act, making unkind remarks about each other. 

The Miami Heat’s original ownership group consisted of NBA Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham, former sports agent Lewis Schaffel, and Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison. The NBA wasn’t initially enamored by the Heat’s ownership group, which led Arison to become the majority owner of the Heat. His involvement helped soothe any worries the NBA had over the Heat’s financial strength.

“I really feel this is a great day for Miami,” Cesar Odio, City Manager, said in 1987. “We need to support this franchise. It's a reality in the first year. We are going to have a team in the first year, and the arena will be ready. I feel like an expectant father that just had a baby.”

Before the NBA expanded into Miami, the city had just one professional sports team, the Miami Dolphins. Miami had major collegiate sports with the University of Miami Hurricanes, but the South Florida City craved additional professional sports. Throughout the 1980s, Miami’s image was cultivated by television shows like Miami Vice. Now, Miami was a major player in multiple sports leagues. In just a few years, the city would add Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League teams. The Miami Heat’s first player in franchise history was Arvid Kramer. The center was selected as the first pick of the 1988 Expansion Draft. Kramer never played a minute for the Heat, however.

In truth, the Heat did not have a good expansion draft, but the team’s first-ever college draft yielded some fine players, including Rony Seikaly, who played until 1994. Although Seikaly was the team’s first college draftee, the team would be known for the play of forward Glen Rice from 1989 to 1995. Rice was the Heat’s first legitimate basketball star. 

Miami’s first season wasn’t great and showed the lack of quality players available in the expansion draft. The team finished the season 15-67. The 1989-90 season wasn’t much better, as the Heat finished 18-64. However, a trend began to appear, as the Heat improved its wins total for each of the next few seasons.

In 1995-96, Miami started a run of six consecutive seasons qualifying for the NBA Playoffs. The team even reached the 1996-97 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Chicago Bulls 4-1. Miami may have started slowly in the NBA, but now the team was an established franchise capable of making the playoffs year on year.

In 2003, the Heat drafted one of its greatest-ever players, Dwyane Wade, a 6ft 4in point guard from Marquette. Wade was a generational talent and quickly established himself as one of the NBA’s best players. Under the leadership of coach Stan van Gundy, Miami reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004-05 before winning its first NBA title in 2005-06, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2.

Miami sealed two of the biggest free-agent signings in NBA history in 2010. LeBron James and Chris Bosh arrived in South Florida to create a Big 3 with Wade. The team reached the NBA Finals, losing to the Mavericks. Miami returned to the finals, winning the NBA title in each of the next two campaigns, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, respectively.

The 2013-14 season ended in heartbreak for the Heat. The team was beaten 4-1 by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The summer of 2014 saw James depart the team, bringing an end to the most successful period for the Miami Heat. James would reunite with Miami. However, he was on the opposite side of the court, playing for James’ Los Angeles Lakers in the 2019-20 NBA Finals. James led the Lakers to the NBA title, defeating the Heat in six games. 

Miami has reached seven NBA Finals, the last in 2023, losing to the Denver Nuggets, which is one more time than the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. The team won three of the final series while losing four times.

In 2000, the Heat moved out of the outdated Miami Arena and into what is now the Kaseya Center. The arena holds 19,600 fans, an upgrade on the team’s original home arena. The Heat are the Kaseya Center’s only permanent resident.