2005–06 Miami Heat season

The 2005–06 Miami Heat season was the 18th National Basketball Association season for the Miami Heat basketball franchise. The highlight of the season was winning the 2006 NBA Finals and their first NBA Championship. The team was nicknamed "15 Strong".

The team's season roster is featured in the video game NBA 2K16.^[1]

Offseason

• In August 2005, Shaquille O'Neal 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/Oklahoma City Hornets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Boston Celtics, and the Utah Jazz. The Heat traded Rasual Butler to the Hornets, Eddie Jones to the Grizzlies, and Albert Miralles, Qyntel 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.^[2]

Jason Williams would be the starting point guard on the Heat.

On the same day, the Heat would sign Kasib Powell. He would sign with the Chicago Bulls on September 29, and the Bulls waived him on November 2.^[3] 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 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 Gary Payton. 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.^[4]

NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	29	Wayne Simien	Forward	United States	Kansas

Roster

Miami Heat roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 2.0 !SG 5 USA ! Anderson, Derek 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Kentucky 3.0 !SF 49 USA ! Anderson, Shandon 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Georgia 6.0 !C 30 USA ! Barron, Earl 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Memphis 6.0 !C 51 USA ! Doleac, Michael 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 262 lb (119 kg) Utah 4.5 !PF 40 USA ! Haslem, Udonis 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Florida 3.0 !SF 24 USA ! Kapono, Jason 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UCLA 6.0 !C 33 USA ! Mourning, Alonzo 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Georgetown 6.0 !C 32 USA ! O'Neal, Shaquille 7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) LSU 1.0 !PG 20 USA ! Payton, Gary 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon State 3.0 !SF 42 USA ! Posey, James 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Xavier 4.5 !PF 25 USA ! Simien, Wayne 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Kansas 2.0 !SG 3 USA ! Wade, Dwyane 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Marquette 4.5 !PF 8 USA ! Walker, Antoine 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Kentucky 1.0 !PG 55 USA ! Williams, Jason 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Florida 3.0 !SF 1 USA ! Wright, Dorell 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) South Kent (HS)	Head coach Pat Riley Assistant coach(es) Keith Askins (Alabama) Bob McAdoo (North Carolina) Ron Rothstein (Rhode Island) Erik Spoelstra (Portland) Bill Foran (Central Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Depth chart

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 Pat Riley 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.^[5] 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 Shaquille O'Neal'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."^[6]

• On April 11, 2006, Shaquille O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists.

Standings

Game log

Player stats

Regular season

* Statistics include only games with the Heat

Playoffs

* Statistics include only games with the Heat

2006 NBA Playoffs

Heat clinched a 2 seed at the Eastern Conference for the 2006 NBA Playoffs.

2006 NBA Finals

Game One

Dallas' Jason Terry 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 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 Dwyane Wade'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 Gary Payton 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 Shaquille O'Neal with a flagrant foul that resulted in him being suspended 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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).

Award winners

O'Neal handing over the championship ball when the NBA Champion Heat visited the White House

• Shaquille O'Neal, NBA leader in field goal percentage
  • He joined Wilt Chamberlain 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
• Dwyane Wade, 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 Database Basketball
• Heat on Basketball Reference