Miami Heat, professional basketball team and one of seven teams in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat play in AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, and wear jerseys of red, gold, and white.

The Heat entered the NBA in 1988 when the league granted an expansion team franchise to a group of investors that included Ted Arison, Lewis Schaffel, and former Philadelphia 76ers star Billy Cunningham. The franchise used its 1988 draft picks to select center Rony Seikaly, guard Kevin Edwards, and forward Grant Long.

The Heat lost the first 17 games of its 1988-89 debut season, setting an NBA record for the most losses to begin a season. Finishing the year with a 15-67 win-loss record, Miami used its poor finish to its advantage, selecting forward Glen Rice and guard Sherman Douglas in the 1989 NBA draft. The club’s record slowly improved over the next few years. During the 1991-92 season the team registered a 38-44 record, qualifying for its first playoff appearance. The inexperienced Heat, however, were defeated by the Chicago Bulls in the first round in three straight games.

The Heat returned to the playoffs in 1993-94 by posting a 42-40 win-loss record, the team’s first winning season. Rice led the team in offense, scoring 21.1 points per game. In the playoffs Miami lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, three games to two.

The Heat made several personnel moves during the 1994-95 season, trading Seikaly and Long and adding forward-center Kevin Willis to the roster. The team’s ownership also changed when the Arison family bought out both Schaffel and Cunningham for controlling interest of the franchise. Despite the changes and the high scoring of both Willis and Rice, the team finished the season with a record of 32-50.

The Heat then hired former New York Knicks coach Pat Riley to guide the club beginning with the 1995-96 season. The club also traded Rice to the Charlotte Hornets for center Alonzo Mourning. The effort to retool the team for the late 1990s continued, and by the season’s end only one player remained from the previous year’s roster. The Heat finished the campaign 42-40 and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.