Miami Heat: An Illustrated Timeline - by Tim Reynolds (Hardcover)

About the Book

A 27-game winning streak. NBA championships in 2006, 2012, and 2013. Hall of Fame players, a Hall of Fame coach running everything, and even a Hall of Fame owner. And stars so big they go by just one name in the basketball world: Shaq, Dwyane, LeBron, Zo, Riles, Spo, and Udonis. This is the story of the Miami Heat. A franchise born from an idea in the mid-1980s took the floor for the first time in 1988, in a place where until then all fans really had to root for in South Florida were two legendary football teams: the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes. Over time, the Heat did what few thought possible in those early days. They turned Miami into a basketball town. The stories of Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Erik Spoelstra, Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and many more are forever part of Miami sports lore. The first championship over Dallas in 2006 meant the Heat had arrived; the next two championships in 2012 and 2013 cemented the franchise's place among the NBA's great organizations. There were some tough days. Some tough seasons, too. The first years were a big struggle. The team has gone to the NBA Finals and lost on four occasions. Some breakups with players got ugly. But no matter the result, no matter the era, the Heat under Riley, Arison, and Spoelstra had an unrelenting belief in what they call culture: the philosophy that working harder than other teams is the only way to win.

About the Author

Tim Reynolds has been a sportswriter since 1991 and has been with the Associated Press since 2002. He's covered the Miami Heat since 2003 and is now a national basketball writer. The Paris Games in 2024 were his 12th consecutive Olympics, and he has covered-among other things-Super Bowls, the Stanley Cup Final, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Masters, college football's championship games, Lionel Messi's tenure in Major League Soccer, and the Basketball World Cup. He was inducted into the New York Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025 and lives in South Florida.