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. The team was nicknamed "15 Strong".

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.

NBA Draft

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

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.

• 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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