Miami Heat 2013 Championship

The 2013–14 Miami Heat season was the 26th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They entered the season as three-time defending Eastern Conference champions and as two-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals in five games and the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals in seven games. In defeating the Spurs in 2013, the Heat handed the Spurs their first-ever series loss in the NBA Finals. The 2013–2014 season was the Heat's fourth and final season playing with the "Big Three" of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, and ended with a 54–28 record, despite a 43–14 record early in March. It was the lowest record (.659) in the Big Three era (with the exception of the 2011–12 NBA season, which was a shortened season due to a lockout). It was also their sixth season under head coach Erik Spoelstra and Ray Allen's last season in the NBA after 18 years in the league. Although he was a free agent during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, and despite rumors of a possible return to the league to play for the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, or Boston Celtics, Allen officially announced his retirement on November 1, 2016, and was one of two remaining active players from the 1996 draft, the other being Kobe Bryant, whom announced his retirement the season prior. The Heat swept the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round and defeated the Brooklyn Nets in five games in the conference semifinals. In a rematch of the previous year's Eastern Conference finals, the Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers in six games (ending the Pacers' season for the third year in a row) to become the first team to win four consecutive Eastern Conference championships since the Boston Celtics did so in the 1984–1987 seasons. Miami's quest for a three-peat ended when the San Antonio Spurs, whom they met in a rematch of the 2013 NBA Finals, won the NBA Finals by a 4–1 margin. Following the season, James left the Heat in free agency to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom he previously played for from 2003 to 2010. This would also be the last time the Heat would appear in the Finals until 2020, wherein they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers (led by former Heat player James) 4 games to 2.