By Ivan Munoz
It was 2003 and the Heat were on the clock. It was this year in which a definitive decision was made for the team’s history.
“With the 5th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade from Marquette University.”
The Miami Heat had drafted 21 year old Dwyane Wade on June 26, 2003. From there on out, the Heat’s franchise would become one of the best all around the NBA and it was truly the start of something special.
Wade’s spectacular start
Two thousand and three was my first year watching sports as a kid. I was nine at the time and the first sports game I ever saw was a Marlins game that aired on tv. Later on in the season, they went on to win the World Series after being the underdogs in the baseball world for so long.
The second sport that caught my attention was basketball. I remember channel seven, ESPN, and other news outlets talking about a kid that was drafted from Marquette University named Dwyane Wade and how it would be his first NBA game that day. I remember sitting down in front of the TV and watching him play against the 76ers in which he finished with 18 points. From that day on, he became someone I look up to till this day.
I will never forget the first time I saw Dwyane Wade play live. I was surprised with game tickets and my entire family and I watched Miami destroy the Hawks 125-95, with the team being led by Wade. It was an unforgettable night and I WAS EVEN ON THE JUMBOTRON!
Although the season had its ups and downs that year, the Heat were able to turn the season around and go over .500, finishing strong enough to advance to the playoffs thanks to the rookie from Marquette that led the team all the way.
When the 2004 NBA playoffs started, Miami was lined up to play the New Orleans Hornets in the first round. The Heat had home court advantage and it was a nice way for Dwyane to get his first taste of playoff basketball. Both teams held on to home court advantage and it all came down to a fourth quarter in game seven. I think everyone watching the game knew that the ball would be in Wade’s hand for the final shot. He drove into the lane, laid up the shot, and it went in. As everyone was celebrating at the game in Miami, I remember being in a restaurant jumping up and down with everyone around looking at me. It was one of the best moments I ever witnessed and one of the main reasons I fell in love with the sport. The Heat later went on to lose to the Pacers in the second round, but it was just the start for Dwyane Wade.
The Diesel arrives in a Flash to Miami
In the summer of 2004, Pat Riley knew that he had a young rising star in Dwyane Wade and he had to take advantage of the moment in order to try and seize a championship.
Rumors were going around the NBA that Shaquille O’Neal was unhappy and wanted to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. Riley would go on to trade Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a 1st round pick to the Lakers for Shaq, and he was then officially a member of the Miami Heat.
All news outlets went crazy when the trade was official! Wade and Shaq would become a new threat to all teams in the NBA and had the chance to make franchise history if they brought the title to Miami.
Shaq’s arrival to Miami was something I think every Heat fan will remember. O’Neal pulled up in an 18-wheeler and was shooting fans with a water gun in front of the American Airlines Arena. He walked up to the podium and stated “I will bring a championship to Miami, I promise.”
Wade, with the help of his team, would earn his first trip to the NBA All-Star game that season and rightfully so.
As the ‘04-’05 season came to an end, Wade and Shaq led the Heat to the best record in the Eastern conference, meaning they would get home court advantage if they managed to get all the way through.
Wade was dominant the entire path toward the NBA championship. The Heat breezed right through the playoffs eliminating the Nets and the Wizards in four, and faced off with the Detroit Pistons, the defending NBA champions, in the Eastern Conference Finals. Just one step away and the Heat would be right in the NBA Finals. It was going to be the toughest test of the season.
The Heat got a quick wake up call in losing the first game in the series. They lost home court advantage and would go on to trade wins and losses the rest of the way through until game seven, where the Heat would fall short from the finals. This was just fuel for Wade to gear up for the following season.
The Biggest Test
After a tough exit the year prior, Pat Riley did the biggest trade in NBA history and brought in many veterans to try and reach Wade’s first NBA title.
The start of the season was one of the worst. Shaq was injured early on and the Heat dropped many games. This led to Miami’s coach at the time resigning, but there was only one man fit for the job and his name was Pat Riley.
Wade was still shining and earning his respect around the league and once Shaq came back, the losing streak ended and the Heat were back. They climbed the ranks and ended the season in second place behind their rivals, the Detroit Pistons.
This was one of the greatest NBA postseason performances of all time.
During the first round of the postseason, Miami had a small test against the Bulls. Both teams had taken care of their homecourt through the first four games, but Wade pulled through and won the next two and ultimately finished Chicago off in six games. They got through the Nets pretty easily and won in five, and then faced the Pistons, which had eliminated them the season prior. Wade put the team on his back and single handedly took them out. Dwyane averaged 26 points per game and he was on his way to his FIRST NBA championship!
On the other side of the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks were dominating the West. They actually came into the Finals as the favorites to win, and it was clear within the first two Finals games of Wade’s career.
Dallas started the Finals with home court advantage and completely disintegrated the Heat in the first two games. Many speculated that the Heat didn’t have what it took to defeat Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks after what Miami showed. Wade would have to turn up his game to another level if he was going to seize his first NBA Championship.
The day was June 12th, 2006. Miami was down by twelve points with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks bench was celebrating because, with how the game was going, they were about to be up 3-0 in the NBA Finals. With a desperate crowd hoping for a comeback, Wade came to save the day. He would make bucket, after bucket, after bucket, and led the team back to tie the game. With Miami’s final shot, Gary Payton sunk down the jumper, and the Heat had finished the comeback, won 98-96 and Wade finished with 42 points and 13 rebounds!
After the impressive victory over Dallas, Miami went on to dominate game four, winning by over 20 points and tying the series at two, but could the Heat maintain home court advantage against a juggernaut like the Mavericks and could they lead the series for the first time in franchise history?
Game five was the match that got me the most nervous as a kid, knowing that if we won, we had a huge advantage going back to Dallas. But, if we lost, we’d lose the homecourt and the momentum would switch over. The stakes were high for both teams, and it was truly an NBA Finals game.
Miami and Dallas went into overtime, it was all or nothing at this point. With the Heat down one, Wade drove into the lane and got fouled and was sent to the line to either tie the game or take the lead. With his first free throw, he sunk it in, and tied the game. But with just one timeout left, Josh Howard from the Mavericks called an unnecessary timeout and Dallas was unable to move the ball past half court! Wade went to the line and called game, sinking in his second free throw! Miami up by one, Dallas inbounded and threw up a prayer shot, but it missed and the Heat had their first lead in the 2006 NBA Finals and were one game from winning it all!
June 20th, 2006 would be the first opportunity to capture the first luxurious championship in franchise history. In the fourth quarter, the Heat had a great minute by Alonzo Mourning coming off the bench, and he helped the Heat get crucial stops down the stretch by rebounding and blocking, followed by great plays from James Posey. Dallas called their final timeout with just seconds left towards the end of the game and down by three. Jason Terry shot a three pointer to tie the game, but missed, the rebound landed in the hands of Dwyane Wade. With the shot clock expiring, Wade threw the ball up in the air and Miami claimed their first NBA Championship!
Not only was this one of the greatest NBA Finals performances of all-time, but Wade was also named the 2006 Finals MVP with the final statline of 34.7 points per game, and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Life after the Finals
Some things sort of fell off for the Heat after they won their championship title. Miami got eliminated by the Bulls in the first round the following season, Shaq was traded from the team, and in a game against the Houston Rockets, Wade dislocated his shoulder and started having major knee problems which led to surgery in both areas ultimately shutting down the rest of his season.
The Comeback Season
Since the last season went downhill, Pat Riley gave up his coaching role to Eric Spolstra to focus more on president of basketball operation duties. Miami also had some high draft picks that following season: Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. With two rookies on the squad, a new coach, and Wade coming off his injury, no one knew how good Wade was going to play. Let me tell you, it was something I wish I could witness again.
Night in and night out, Wade was all over ESPN’s top 10 plays, on every team's status report, and was the center of attention all over the NBA! Dwyane was having an MVP caliber season and finished his 2009 season with the scoring title, averaging 30.2 ppg, 7.2 apg, and 5.0 rpg. Unfortunately, after having an amazing season, leading the NBA with the scoring title, Wade and the Miami Heat were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Hawks, and wasn’t named MVP that season as it was given to Lebron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers. After that season, Wade’s contract was up and he was a free agent. The entire NBA was after the young star. But who would he ultimately choose? Miami, Chicago, or New York?
The start of the “Big Three”
I’ll never forget the day when Wade announced his decision for what team he would play for the following season. I was at a bowling place with some friends of mine. The tv on the ceiling was broadcasting some sports but suddenly ESPN popped up with breaking news, and Wade was side-by-side on the screen with Chris Bosh. The announcer asked Wade “Where will you be playing next season?,” and he answered “I’ll be back in Wade county” and my heart was finally at peace. BUT then they asked Chris Bosh and he said he too would be joining Wade in Miami and I remember jumping up and screaming because we had our franchise player back and also gained a huge all-star piece in Chris Bosh. But Miami’s free agency was not yet finished. Another superstar was also a free agent and his name was LeBron James. He had a national televised show called “The Announcement” in which he announced his decision for what NBA team he was going to play for the next season.
“In this fall... this is very tough... in this fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”
Sitting down on my couch with my mouth wide open, my entire family watching in shock, we all screamed of joy, and I think the rest of Miami as well. Pat Riley and Andy Ellisburg really just pulled off something that no one thought was possible, THREE NBA ALL-STARS ON ONE TEAM!
The tough start the team needed
I think Miami was now the most hated team in the NBA. They had three all-stars and ultimately had a huge target on their backs because of that. Every team wanted to trash the Heat and played their hearts out against them. Lebron had been eliminated by the Celtics the year prior in the playoffs. He came looking for a better chance to win and Miami’s first opponent that season was Boston and, man, it was tough. Every possession we had the ball, fans booed us and our chemistry as a team was still not there. After a loss to the Celtics that day, we went 8-7 to start the season and we were on the news each and every night with analysts wondering how we were going to play with three stars, questioning if our coach was good enough to handle this type of pressure, and if this was going to work. The team faced a lot of scrutiny throughout the season but we managed to pull through and finished the season with the second best record in the Eastern Conference with 58-24 behind the Bulls.
If I am being honest, the season plays a huge part in seeding, but playoff basketball is completely different than the regular season. The Heat were headed into the playoffs and, if they were to make it far into the postseason, they’d have to face the Bulls and Celtics most likely. The Heat were 1-3 against both teams in the regular season and were going to have to demonstrate a different style of play if they wanted to turn those numbers upside down.
The first opponent they faced were the 76ers. That series was pretty simple and Miami dominated it going 4-1 fairly quickly. But I think the toughest challenge was their next opponent... the Celtics. They beat LeBron the season prior, dominated us all season, and now Miami had to show off a different type of toughness to knock them off. Miami came out strong this series and wow, we took a 2-0 lead going into Boston, then the Celtics beat us by only three points in game three. We came back to steal home court advantage and then win it at home where we were down by 3 with 3 minutes to go and dominated the whole way through. Miami had made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and we got past a tough opponent.
The next series was another one in which Miami had to demonstrate a different type of grit in order to get past the Bulls. Chicago were headlined by Derrick Rose, a young and amazing talent in the NBA which was playing phenomenal all season long. Miami got a huge wakeup call in game one, although Chris Bosh put up 30 points. The Heat still lost by twenty.… I don’t know what happened after that game but man, the Heat really caught fire. Miami went on to win the next THREE GAMES and were super dominant the whole way through. Then we headed back to Chicago for game 5, in a game where we could close the series.
Game 5 at Chicago was one of the greatest games I ever witnessed on tv. I remember telling my dad, “this game is probably over,” and he told me “never say never until the game is finished,” and I will never forget that quote. The Heat were down by 12 points with just 3:36 minutes left in the fourth quarter. I have no idea where it came from, but Miami’s defense turned it up from level 3 to level 10 in just a short amount of time., Dwyane and LeBron’s offense literally caught fire and they finished the game on a 19-4 run and completely left the fans at the United Center in complete disbelief! THE HEAT WERE GOING TO THE FINALS! I looked over to my dad in shock and he said “I told you.”
The 2011 NBA Finals
On the other side of the NBA, Dallas had surged back and took the NBA by storm! They defeated the young OKC Thunder and were named the Western Conference Champions! They were headed off to face the Heat to which they lost to back to in 2006. Miami was the clear favorite that year. They had three All-Stars, momentum, and dominated the entire playoffs, so what could go wrong right?
The Heat had the first two games at home.In game one, Miami dominated led by Lebron with 24 points and Wade with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. But the Heat were taken home court away by Dallas in game two and the series was tied at 1 a piece heading to Dallas for three straight games. The Heat stole home court advantage by winning game 3 but failed to win another game. Dallas went on to win their first ever championship. Wade carried in the 2011 Finals and averaged 26.5 points per game and LeBron was struggling from the field only averaging 17, but this was something that had to happen in order for more success.
The Lockout Season
After a long offseason, the players association and the NBA could not come to an agreement and the season was most likely to either be delayed or cancelled.
Whether the Heat played or not, they still made a huge addition in adding Shane Battier, an elite defender and veteran player to the squad.
Months after the season was supposed to begin, the two associations finally reached an agreement and the following NBA season was WILD. Since it was delayed, they needed to squeeze all 80+ games into pretty much five months and every week there were about 4-5 games! As an NBA fan, I think everyone was happy that basketball was on tv literally every second BUT it could also put a lot on the back of NBA players.
Instead of the team being led by Wade, I think he took a step down and let LeBron be himself and ultimately allowed James to lead the team that season.
The Heat were back in the playoffs after a solid season and the first opponent they faced were the Knicks... But let's be honest, the Knicks only had a star in Carmelo Anthony. They got dominated 4-1 and Miami were off to the quarterfinals.
Miami played the Pacers in the 2nd round but faced the toughest bump in the road to try and seize a championship. They won the first game but lost game two. The worst thing they lost that game was Chris Bosh. He got injured in a play and was to be out for more than 2 weeks.. That means that they would not be able to have him available for the rest of the series and the “Big 3” was down to the “Big 2”. With the Pacers knowing that Bosh was out, they continued to dominate the boards and paint in game 3, taking a 2-1 lead. Lots of questions loomed over the minds of Miami: How were they going to come back and win this without one of their stars? The question was answered when Wade turned back the clock, and the duo of Batman and Robin or Peanut Butter and Jelly was back! Wade and ‘Bron really dominated each and every game throughout the rest of the series and finished 4-2 to go on to the Eastern Conference Finals!
Once again, they ran into the Celtics. Boston knew Miami had eliminated them and they were out to seek revenge. A big problem happened when the Heat were tied 2-2 in the series and game 5 was in Miami. Chris Bosh had just got back from his injury but that wasn't even enough of a boost to pick them up from the game and they lost. Heading back to Boston, down 3-2… things were not looking so good. In game 6, I have never seen LeBron look so mad; that man DOMINATED the entire game both defensively and offensively and they took game 7 back to Miami and finished off the Celtics! Miami were headed back to the NBA Finals.
2012 Finals
OKC was running wild in the Wild Wild West and they had a big 3 of their own. They had Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, and James Harden., These three were so young and talented… IT WAS CRAZY! So could Miami’s veteran squad really dominate these young guns?
Game one… we got blasted. Let’s not talk about it.
Game two on the other hand, was pretty good for us. We held the momentum of the game entirely and never really looked back after that. Tying the series at 1, we headed back to Miami and there was a party each and every night. Game 3 and 4 were really close at one point but Miami’s defense was superb and we held a 3-1 lead going into game 5 and that was the best thing ever. Game 5 started, and Miami knew what they needed to do to win.if I’m being honest, we came out making every shot in the 2nd half, leading by over 20 points, and the entire OKC team looked shocked. As the clock ran out, the Heat called a final timeout and brought in Wade, Bosh, and LeBron, and the entire arena gave a huge standing ovation to the “Big 3” and their first NBA Championship!
2013 Season
As a Heat fan, I think this was the greatest season in the history of the franchise.
During the offseason, we picked up Ray Allen. Now if you don’t know who that is, then maybe you know Jesus Shuttleworth… If not, well, let’s just say he’s one of the GREATEST shooters in the history of the NBA. He played a huge role in this season, but we’ll get back to that later.
In the middle of the season we also picked up Chris Andersen, AKA BIRDMAN, and he was another key factor in the Heat’s amazing season.
THE MIAMI HEAT WERE UNSTOPPABLE THIS SEASON! I won’t go into detail but we happened to start the season very well, and next thing you know, boom, we win game after game, after game, and oh, another game.. So many wins that we eventually won 27 IN A ROW! Our win streak was so impressive! We overcame so many games in which we were down by over 10 and won on the last shot, and even overcame a game in Cleveland where the Heat were down 27 and eventually won. Eventually we fell to the Chicago Bulls and that ended our streak, but we reached the record books and had the 2nd most wins in a row in NBA history!
During the run, not only did Miami show up on every media outlet, but people would go to every game, in every arena, in every city just to watch not only the “Big 3” but “The Heatles”. This nickname was given to them because everywhere they went, they became the center of attention, and rightfully so.
These playoffs were like no other. Miami was obviously a bit tired from the regular season, I mean c’mon, these guys just won 27 in a row, but the Heat quickly dominated the Bucks and Bulls in both matchups and won in 5 games. The real test was when we faced the Indiana Pacers.. This team was looking for revenge all season, everytime we played them, it was national television. They hated us and wanted to finish us. T, the squad consisted of Paul George, David West, George Hill and Roy Hibbert. To be honest, it was a solid squad and they showed it in this series. This entire Eastern Conference matchup was tough to watch because we won the first game by a nail biter, and the second game, we lost. The third we completely dominated, but the fourth, we got broken down. The rest of the series was a take one and lose one and that ultimately led the Heat to winning game 7 at home and heading to their third Finals appearance in a row!
An NBA Finals to remember
In the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs had gotten out of the West pretty quickly. A lot of people failed to realize that, although the Spurs might’ve been old, they sure weren’t rusty. They had one of the best power forwards to ever play the game of basketball in Tim Duncan, a really good point guard in Tony Parker, possibly the best South American player to ever play in the NBA in Manu Ginobili, and one of the greatest coaches EVER in Greg Popovich.
Game 1 was an instant wake up call for Miami. Tony Parker ended the game with a high arching shot and it left the crowd stunned. Just like that, Miami had already lost home court advantage. The Heat went on to win game 2 by 19 points but game 3 was… really tough. The Heat got torched by 33 points and got embarrassed. Series 2-1. The big problem was that there were still two more games to be played in San Antonio so if the Heat were going to want to head back home, they had to win one more, and that’s exactly what they did. The Heat’s Big 3 combined for 85 points and pulled off a must win game. Although they lost game 5, they were headed back to the American Airlines Arena down 3-2 in the finals.
Game 6 was crazy. Miami was down by double digits heading into the 4th quarter, LeBron was not having his best performance, and people on social media were all over it. As a fan, I was sad that we might’ve lost after such a great season. Next thing you know, they knock LeBron’s headband off his head and he turns into SuperMan. He brought us all the way back from being in a tough position, to at least close range of the game. With seconds left, Miami was down by 5, LeBron shoots a three and makes it, but we had to foul because there was no time left in the clock. Fans started leaving the arena because they thought that was it… The trophy was out for San Antonio’s celebration, the rope to prevent fanatics from running onto the court was being shown, and Spurs players were smiling because they thought it was over. They hit one of two from the line and next thing you know we were running up the court, down by 3, LeBron shoots a three and misses, rebound out to Bosh, and you remember that Ray Allen guy from earlier? The one I said was one of the best shooters of all-time? And how did we sign him? Well he was open for three in the corner BAM! WE TIE THE GAME! WE WERE GOING TO OVERTIME! I was literally on the edge of tears watching this game because it was the greatest thing I ever witnessed. We went on to win game 6 and we were now headed to the last game of the NBA season, an NBA Finals Game 7!
This was one of the toughest games to watch., The Heat and Spurs were going at it back and forth. Neither team during the entire game led by over 10 points. It was truly a game 7 that NBA fans wanted. At the end of it all, Miami won and we had done it, back to back titles and Wade would get his 3rd championship of his career!
Post Big 3 Era
In 2014 we did make another Finals appearance but lost in five games, which led the Heat’s big 3 to break up. LeBron went back to Cleveland, Bosh signed an enormous contract with the Heat to stay, and Wade resigned with us. Although we started off both seasons of 2014-2016, Chris Bosh was out for the rest of the season due to blood clots which almost took his life.
Our franchise player Dwyane Wade would leave the Heat after he was looking for a big contract and signed with Chicago for a season. That was one of my saddest moments as a Heat fan because he was the person I looked up to my entire life and the person I wished would’ve spent his entire career in the sunshine state.
The low years for the Heat were pretty fun. We were able to see some nice young talent display what they had, and try to see what the future was for us.
Fairy Tale Ending
I will never forget the day I got an alert from ESPN on my phone. It stated “The Miami Heat have acquired Dwyane Wade from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2nd round draft pick”.
I got on my knees as tears were running down my face, looked up to the sky and said, “Thank you.”
I cried because he was finally coming back. Every Heat fan must’ve been crying tears of joy because our man was back! American Airlines Arena was packed the day he came back, and he put on quite a show hitting the game winner against the 76ers.
Wade would announce his retirement the next season and it was something unforgettable. I tuned in each and every night to see every game because he is my idol. The final game of his career was in Brooklyn, where he got a triple-double and it was truly a fairy tale ending.
Dwyane Wade is not only an idol to me, but he is an idol to the entire city of Miami. He brought us three hard earned championships and remained everyone's favorite Heat player of all-time. He gave the community so much and gave everything he had on the court for us. I’m glad I was able to see him play live throughout my lifetime and watch his jersey retirement. I find comfort in knowing I'll be able to see it in the rafters the next time I go to a game. the next time I go to a game I can see it in the rafters.
Love you D. Wade, AKA Flash, AKA Father-Prime, and thank you for everything you’ve done for my life.
Credits: www.basketball-reference.com
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