For the 2022-23 season, the Heat seem to have all the tools to make a real go at the championship. With Butler at the helm, and his cohorts—the young and towering Nikola Jovic and the “hero” from Kentucky, Tyler Herro, they may have the beginnings of a new dynasty. 2022-’23 might be their year, and when it comes to betting on the NBA, The Miami Heat are sure to attract some wagers.
The Miami Heat are the reigning Southeast Division champions, as well as returning Eastern conference finalists. In 2021, they won their third division title in five years. They are a solid pick to make a run for the O’Brien trophy this season. Coached by Eric Spoelstra, the Heat made an intriguing campaign in last year’s playoffs, authoritatively topping a stacked conference, but dropped to the Boston Celtics in a seven game series.
The Heat’s voluminous history began in the 1988-89 season when they became an expansion franchise team. After a failing first five years, the Heat brought Pat Riley on board as head coach and president of operations. Under Riley’s guidance, the Heat became a scourge for teams like the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. This was due in large part to Riley’s coaching and to the acquisitions of Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning. That first golden age ended, however, in 2002. Pat Riley stepped down as head coach but held the reins of the organization.
It was in 2003 that the wunderkind, Dwyane Wade was drafted and changed the face of the franchise. With Wade, as well as the blockbuster acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal in 2006, the Heat won their first championship.
After this success, the Heat were plagued by injuries and personnel changes until the 2010’s.
The team wisely retained Wade and opted to build a new franchise around him. This came in the form of Lebron James and Chris Bosh, to worldwide fanfare. Together, the “big three” as they were known, forged dominant seasons in the NBA and won two championships—these would be the second and third of the franchise’s history, and saw Lebron James join an elite group of players who have won back-to-back League MVPs; and become the only player after Michael Jordan to win back-to-back NBA Championship MVPs.
2016 saw the end of the Big Three era: Lebron James signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and Chris Bosh retired due to chronic injuries (and some drama). The franchise faced another rebuilding era after this success. In 2019, they signed superstar Jimmy Butler to the team and began a newfound successful championship campaign.
Last year looked like it would be theirs; in a commanding fashion, they won their Southeast Division and finished at the top of the Eastern Conference, over the Celtics and Bucks. They beat the Atlanta Hawks and then the Philadelphia 76’ers in the playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in a seven-game Eastern Conference final.
