The 2005–06 Miami Heat season was the 18th

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

season for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

basketball franchise. During the offseason, the Heat acquired Jason Williams and James Posey from the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, and All-Star forward Antoine Walker from the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, while signing free agent All-Star point guard

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

. Early into the season, after a 11–10 start to the year, head coach Stan Van Gundy resigned, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, and

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

resumed coaching the Heat. The Heat went 41–20 the rest of the way, finishing with a 52–30 record, good enough for first place in the Southeast Division and second place in the Eastern Conference overall.

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. ( or , born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the co-owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He is also currently the host of the American a ...

and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

were both selected for the

2006 NBA All-Star Game The 2006 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 19, 2006, at the Toyota Center in Houston, home of the Houston Rockets. The game was the 55th annual All-Star game. The theme song was by Houston native Chamillionaire who made a new ...

. In the first round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, the Heat defeated the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in six games, and the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in five games in the semi-finals to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in a rematch of last year's playoffs. After splitting the first two games of the series, the Heat defeated the Pistons in six games to advance to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

for the first time in franchise history, where they faced the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. After losing the first two games of the series, the Heat recovered to win the next four games and the first ever championship in franchise history. The team was nicknamed "15 Strong".

Offseason

* In August 2005,

signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut, and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contend that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that considerably less valuable players earn almost the same amount. Critics, however, questioned the wisdom of the move, characterizing it as overpaying an aging and often injured player. * On August 2, 2005, the Heat were involved in one of the largest trades in NBA history. It was a five-team trade which included the Heat, the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, the

, and the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. The Heat traded Rasual Butler to the Hornets, Eddie Jones to the Grizzlies, and Albert Miralles,

Qyntel Woods Qyntel Deon Woods (born February 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He played mainly at the small forward position, but he also played at the shooting guard position, on occasion. Early life and college career Woods ...

, a 2006 2nd round draft pick, and a 2008 2nd round draft pick to the Celtics. In return, the Heat received Antoine Walker from the Celtics, Andre Emmett, James Posey, and Jason Williams from the Grizzlies, and Roberto Dueñas from the Hornets. Walker would be a reliable bench player during the season. Posey and Williams would be starters at small forward and point guard, respectively. Emmett would be waived on October 31, while Dueñas would not sign with the team. J-Will

On the same day, the Heat would sign Kasib Powell. He would sign with the

on September 29, and the Bulls waived him on November 2. Powell may not have played on the Heat during the season, but would join the team two seasons later. * On August 12, the Heat signed Gerald Fitch. Fitch would be traded to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

on February 23 for Derek Anderson. * On August 15, the Heat signed Matt Walsh. Walsh would be waived on November 18. * On September 22, the Heat signed Hall-of-Famer

. Payton would play his final two seasons in the NBA with the Heat. * On October 3, the Heat signed Jason Kapono. * On October 8, the Heat signed Earl Barron.

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

* In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Many critics stated that Heat coach

correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career (or near-career) lows in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up. * During the 2005 off-season, it was widely speculated Pat Riley was attempting to run Van Gundy out of his coaching job and take over the job himself, as the team was in a position to contend for the championship. Van Gundy would resign from his position as head coach on December 12, 2005, just 21 games into the season, citing a need to spend more time with his family. Riley replaced him as head coach, and led Miami to their first championship that same season. In

's book, "Shaq Uncut: My Story", O'Neal responded to allegations of being a "coach killer" and that he forced Van Gundy out of Miami by stating: "Stan got fired because Pat (Riley) wanted to take over, not because I wanted him out. I had no control over it — not a smidgen of control. We all kind of knew it was coming because Pat and Stan were always arguing. Pat would come down and tell Stan how to do something and Stan would want to do it his own way, and that was a fine game plan if you wanted to get yourself fired." * On April 11, 2006, Shaquille O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

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(6) , FedEx Forum , 1–0 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , November 3 ,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, ,

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Udonis Haslem Udonis Johneal Haslem ( ; born June 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is the vice president of basketball development for the Miami Heat, where he List of NBA players who have spent their entire caree ...

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(21) , Alonzo Mourning (12) ,

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New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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, ,

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Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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(4) , TD Waterhouse Centre , 7–6 , - bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 14 , November 28 , New York , ,

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Philips Arena State Farm Arena is a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrasher ...

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Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

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Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

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Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Int ...

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Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

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Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...

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Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

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Playoffs

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W 111–106
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20,288 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 24 ,

W 115–108
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20,214 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 27 , @

L 90–109
,

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22,133 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , April 30 , @

L 87–93
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20,208 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 10 ,

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20,227 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 12 , @

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(30) , James Posey (10) ,

(10) ,

20,102 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 14 , @

W 102–92
,

(31) ,

(11) ,

(8) ,

19,474 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , May 16 ,

W 106–105
, Antoine Walker (23) ,

(10) ,

(6) , American Airlines Arena
20,255 , 4–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 23 , @

W 91–86
,

(25) ,

(9) ,

(5) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 25 , @

L 88–92
,

(32) ,

(17) ,

(5) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 27 ,

W 98–83
,

(35) ,

(12) , Walker, Wade (4) , American Airlines Arena
20,245 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 29 ,

W 89–78
,

(31) ,

(9) ,

(5) , American Airlines Arena
20,248 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 31 , @

L 78–91
,

(23) ,

(10) , Jason Williams (6) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , June 2 ,

W 95–78
,

(28) ,

(16) ,

(10) , American Airlines Arena
20,258 , 4–2 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , June 8 , @

L 80–90
,

(28) ,

(9) ,

(6) ,

20,475 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , June 11 , @

L 85–99
,

(23) ,

(8) , Payton, Williams (4) ,

20,459 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , June 13 ,

W 98–96
,

(42) ,

(13) ,

(5) , American Airlines Arena
20,145 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , June 15 ,

W 98–74
,

(36) ,

(13) , Jason Williams (6) , American Airlines Arena
20,145 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , June 18 ,

W 101–100 (OT)
,

(43) ,

(12) , Wade, Williams (4) , American Airlines Arena
20,145 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , June 20 , @

W 95–92
,

(36) ,

(12) , Jason Williams (7) ,

20,522 , 4–2

2006 NBA Finals

Game One

Dallas'

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guar ...

scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

Game Two

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...

had a stellar 26-point-16 rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised past the Heat to take a 2–0 series lead.

Game Three

Led by

's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by a

field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left.

Game Four

Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' low-scoring fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals. Jerry Stackhouse caught

with a flagrant foul that resulted in his suspension for Game 5.

Game Five

Making a strong case for NBA Finals MVP, Wade was the star yet again with 43 points shooting as many free throws as all the Mavericks combined, leading the Heat to their third straight win over Dallas after being down 0–2 in the series. After a controversial play in which Mavericks owner Mark Cuban thought Wade committed a backcourt violation, Wade hit the game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left, and also made the shot that sent the game into overtime. He set an NBA Finals record for most made free-throws in a game with 21. The NBA, upon further review of the play, deemed that the officials made the correct call, and that there was no backcourt violation committed. After the game, Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in both of them being fined $5,000 and $250,000 respectively.

Game Six

Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami edged Dallas to win their first championship in franchise history. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was named NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player).

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Award winners

, NBA leader in field goal percentage ** He joined

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

as the only two players in league history to lead the league in field goal percentage nine times. * Shaquille O'Neal, All-NBA First Team *

, NBA All-Star Skills Challenge Champion * Dwyane Wade, All-NBA Second Team * Dwyane Wade, NBA Finals MVP * Dwyane Wade, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year NBA All-Star Game * Dwyane Wade, NBA All-Star Game Appearance * Shaquille O'Neal, NBA All-Star Appearance

References

*
Heat on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 Miami Heat Season Miami Heat seasons

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons NBA championship seasons