The Miami Heat have advanced to the 2023 NBA Finals, toppling the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Scrapping their way into the field through the play-in tournament, the Heat plowed straight through the east bracket to become just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to reach the championship round.
The Heat have won three NBA championships in franchise history and will be going for their fourth this year. Miami won its first title in 2006 Finals, where Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and company toppled the Dallas Mavericks in six games. In 2012, the big three of Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh schooled the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden-led Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to win the franchise’s second Larry O’Brien Trophy. The following year in 2013 the team survived a seven-game gauntlet with the San Antonio Spurs to win the franchise’s third and final title to date. That series was defined by Ray Allen hitting a clutch, game-tying shot with 5.2 seconds left in Game 6 to keep Miami’s title hopes alive.
Miami’s most recent NBA Finals appearance came during the 2020 bubble, where it lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.