Meet the Heat T here are many ways to build a basketball team The Miami Miami Heat have enjoyed their greatest success when they find ffiinndd two superstars and then surround them with smart unselfish h teammates Making this strategy work isn’t as easy as it sounds It took the Heat almost two decades to win their first championship For many years the Heat believed that a little talent and a lot of toughness would lead them to a championship They came close and won millions of fans in the process But in the end they decided that star power was the way to go This book tells the story of the Heat They work hard play hard and dream hard Miami’s players and fans are never er satisfied Each season they are prepared to do whatever it takes takes to win a championship Chris Bosh congratulates LeBron James after a good play They helped the Heat win back-to-back championships 5
d h h k b ll Glory Days B asketball was invented in Massachusetts in the 1890s as a sport that could be played indoors during the winter A century later the game was being played 365 days a year inside and outside all over the United States and all over the world During the 1980s the National Basketball Association NBA announced that it would place a new team in Florida a state where many people go to escape winter weather The Miami Heat joined the league for the 1988 89 season The Heat struggled losing their first 17 games in a row No team in any sport had ever started so poorly Miami improved as the season went on but the team finished with just 15 victories There was one good thing about being so bad In the NBA the teams that lose the most get the top picks in the draft each spring Over the next few years the Heat were able to build a 6
competitive roster Their young stars included Glen Rice Steve Smith Grant Long Sherman Douglas and Rony Seikaly The final pieces of the puzzle came together during the 1995 96 season Pat Riley was hired to coach the Heat and center Alonzo Mourning joined the team and became the leader on the court Midway through the season Miami traded for Tim Hardaway a lightning-quick point guard with a knack for making big shots The following season the Heat won 61 games and fell just short of making it to the NBA Finals Once the Heat found a winning formula they began to add players who fit in with their style They won by playing rugged defense and wearing down their opponents Their victories were not always pretty but Heat fans appreciated their hard-working players When opponents came to Miami they knew they would be in for the fight of their lives Over the next few LEFT Rony Seikaly starred for the Heat in their early years ABOVE Alonzo Mourning fit in perfectly with Miami’s rugged defensive style 7
