Seventeen Years Ago, The Miami Heat Won Their First Ever Franchise Title

The Miami Heat completed their Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks 17 years ago.

Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning. These were among those bringing the Miami Heat their first championship in franchise history 17 years ago.

The Heat won the 2006 Finals in six games against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. After falling behind 2-0, Miami completed a four-game win streak to clinch their first title.

Wade was named Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He averaged 21 more points than the next leading scorer, one of the most dominant individual performances in Finals history. Mourning and Gary Payton had reduced roles but their contributions granted them the first rings of their careers. Meanwhile, O’Neal won his first championship away from the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Heat want to continue that winning culture with the current rendition. They made their seventh Finals appearance but fell to the Denver Nuggets in five games. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro can look at this championship team as inspiration for a fourth banner in South Florida. But it’s going to take more if they want to build a roster to compete.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.