Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Earn Deserving Spot on Top 25 Sports Teams of 21st Century

Jake Elman

Jun 12, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) talks with center Chris Bosh (1), guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second quarter of game four of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Jun 12, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) talks with center Chris Bosh (1), guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second quarter of game four of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

By NBA standards, the Miami Heat have been remarkably successful in the 21st century. 

Heat fans can complain all they want about rotations or trade rumors. At the same time, they needn’t forget how dominant their team has truly been to start the new millennium.

Bleacher Report recently ranked the top 25 sports franchises over the last 25 years. The Heat deservedly ranked fourth, only behind the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 2) and San Antonio Spurs (No. 3) among teams in the four major North American sports leagues.

The New England Patriots, they of the seven Super Bowl rings in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, understandably ranked first.

Bleacher Report used “a mix of regular-season winning percentage, playoff and title-round appearances, championships, and a sprinkling of subjectivity” to determine the rankings. That certainly helped the Heat, who own 19 postseason appearances and seven conference championships over those 25 years. 

Of course, the Heat won the NBA Finals in 2006, 2012, and 2013. The latter two years featured the Big Three of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James, who reached the finals every year from 2011-14. 

Miami went 224-88 during the regular season during the Big Three era. The Heat added a 48-16 record during the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

“Miami was destined for at least a spot in the top 25 just from the four years it had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh together,” Bleacher Report wrote.

Incredibly, the Heat have more Finals appearances (seven) in the past 25 years than seasons without a playoff berth (six). That’s likely why the Heat rank above the Golden State Warriors, who placed sixth despite capturing four titles in the last decade.

We’ll see what the next 25 years hold for the Heat, especially with point guard Tyler Herro blossoming into a potential All-Star. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.

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Jake Elman
JAKE ELMAN

Jake Elman is a veteran sports journalist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s journalism program. In recent years, he has covered the NFL for EndGame360 and served as the sports content lead for ExpressVPN. He also covered the Lane Kiffin years at FAU for the Palm Beach Post.