4. It’s the year 2027, and your bouncing a small child on your knee (maybe it’s even yours) and telling him/her about 2017, and why it was such an important year in Heat history. What are you telling them about?
Smith: I’ll be telling them that for the second time in less than a decade, the Heat were able to procure a two-time MVP winner away from the team which they have spent their entire career. Curry can ask Bosh how hard it is to play second-fiddle (or third-fiddle) to a fellow superstar. But when that player just became the first ever unanimous winner of the MVP award, it hits a whole new level. It’s one thing to say you’re fine with sharing the shots and the spotlight. But as history has shown, it’s much harder to put in action.
Urbina: I’m at a holiday party, and just finished watching the Heat defeat the Utah Jazz, 101-91. Miami’s record is now 27-5 and I’m in a jovial mood. After noticing a random child sitting by himself, I tell him to come over so I could tell him about the year that changed Miami Heat basketball forever. That year, of course, is 2017.
After a trying 2016, which saw the Heat lose not only their greatest player ever, but also 60 games the following season, the team ended up with the fifth pick in the 2017 draft. To supplant the departure of Wade, they used that pick on Kentucky 2-guard Malik Monk. And we all know how that turned out. Multiple All-Star appearances, an immediate return to the playoffs, and eventually, a title. Even today, on January 2nd, 2027, his so-called replacement is still the face of the franchise, averaging 29 points a night to go with five boards and nine assists. The child, who had been quiet until then, smiles and nods in agreement. He opens up his winter jacket and reveals that he’s wearing a Malik Monk Heat jersey. I laugh, and think wow, 2016 was awful, but 2017 really made the Heat the most important team in town again.
Mora: The year Hassan Whiteside started the season averaging triple doubles with blocks. First player ever in NBA history to do so. After a forgetful 2016 season that saw them drop to last in the Eastern Conference, The Heat bounced back strong in the 2017 season with a more experienced young core and Whiteside playing superb All Star caliber basketball. Also the year we somehow got Boogie Cousins and Rudy Gay to start our 2017 championship run.
Tachauer: Can I be holding a puppy instead?
(Editor’s note: Sure.)
I would tell it that despite Wade leaving, the organization stayed afloat. The front office went hard at work to make sure its legacy was intact, by making moves at the trade deadline and during free agency. The team was scrappy as ever, fighting hard night after night, including the first round of the 2017 playoffs. Oh, and that in the end, Wade decided he made a mistake and returned to South Beach to live happily ever after. It was the worst of times, it was the best of times… it was Miami Heat Basketball.