The Miami Heat missed the playoffs in the 2018-19 season, finishing with a record of 39-43.
Just a year later, after knocking off the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the NBA playoffs, Miami finds itself in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat’s turnaround has been nothing short of spectacular. In fact, their play reportedly has some executives around the league questioning the validity of tanking and initiating full roster rebuilds.
“Every team’s situation is different, that’s just a fact,” one league general manager told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “But there are probably owners out there who will look at what the Heat have done and think, ‘Why can’t we do that?’ instead of bottoming out, then building back up.”
Another NBA executive said the Heat’s success has certainly garnered attention.
“Said another longtime front-office executive: ‘There’s a lot of different ways to win. But the Heat did make this turnaround happen faster than normal, and that doesn’t go unnoticed by people who have been sitting through losing,'” Windhorst wrote.
Miami had a huge offseason this past summer. The Heat brought in star Jimmy Butler in free agency, traded for big man Meyers Leonard and drafted guard Tyler Herro. They also added guard Kendrick Nunn to the rotation.
Beyond that, they acquired key postseason contributors Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala during the 2019-20 regular season.
Miami’s additions show that a team can rebuild a team on the fly. Heat team president Pat Riley and the rest of the front office have done a fantastic job building this team.
The improvements of players such as Nunn, Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo have certainly helped Miami take the next step as well.
Now, the Heat are looking to accomplish the ultimate goal and win an NBA championship this season.
