After being counted out all season long, the Miami Heat have become one of the most surprising teams to ever reach the NBA Finals.
Up and down the roster, Heat players are feeling grateful to be playing for an NBA championship.
When the Heat traded for All-Star Jimmy Butler last summer, it seemed reasonable to expect them to return to the NBA playoffs.
But no one outside of South Florida foresaw what has transpired since.
First, Miami overachieved during the regular season with a 44-29 record and a fifth-place finish.
Then the team pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in recent NBA history by decimating the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs, four games to one.
With the Heat’s six-game triumph over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the stage is set for them to become one of the least-likely NBA champions in league history.
However, they will face their stiffest challenge yet, as they will need to overcome a Los Angeles Lakers team that boasts arguably two of the five best players in basketball.