The Miami Heat had a good season, but they couldn’t win it all. Their run still symbolized all the right things though.
The Miami Heat had a great year but as the purple and gold confetti rained down from the rafters in the NBA Bubble, the Heat knew that their season had come to an end. There were handshakes and hugs, the late Kobe Bryant was remembered, Lebron James accepted his 4th NBA Championship trophy, along with his 4th NBA Finals MVP title.
On the other side and before the Miami Heat’s coach Erik Spoelstra began his postgame press conference, you could see him vigorously wiping away tears from his eyes and face. What do I think those tears symbolized?
Well, a few things. The first thing I imagined they symbolized was most obviously, tears of defeat.
It’s not fun to lose any games, but it carries a tougher punch to the gut when it’s in a championship/Finals setting. The next thing I believe that the tears symbolized were a sense of overwhelming pride in how far this Miami Heat team came when from the beginning of this season, many imagined that they would struggle to even make the NBA Playoffs.
So, perhaps it was a moment of pride in his team, his staff, and everyone else that made this incredible opportunity a possibility. It took over 300 people to make this happen and Orlando was extremely gracious to allow these players the opportunity to continue playing the game they love.
The Miami Heat’s run came up just short, but it symbolized all the right things.
The last thing I believe those tears symbolized was just the battle of facing the fact that 2020 has not been an easy year for anyone, yet the Miami Heat did their best to shut out all the extra noise and just focus on the goal at hand.
In my opinion, they accomplished that and then some.
As an avid basketball fan, this year really punched me in the gut when Kobe Bryant passed away, as even though I’m a diehard Miami Heat fan, there was just something about his work ethic, his Mamba Mentality, that just stood out to me and made me look up to him.
It was reminiscent of the way that Dwyane Wade’s work ethic was always supremely evident on the court despite his injuries. It inspired me and made me want to have that same mentality.
On December 27th, 2019, I lost my grandfather. I had previously gotten him into loving Miami Heat basketball.
Miami Heat basketball, amongst other things, really drew us closer together. A few days after he passed away, the Miami Heat won that game.
I wept, looked up at the sky, and said “That was for you PopPop.” As the postseason in the Orlando Bubble progressed, I became increasingly emotional because I know how happy he must’ve been to see the team doing as well as they were.
For them to make the NBA Finals was a feat in and of itself and I know my grandfather was smiling down from the AAA/Orlando Bubble in the sky having a grand old time.
To watch the season come to a close last night was certainly sad and disappointing, but by the same token, I’m extremely proud of them for getting as far as they did. But, what happens from here?
Well, the answer is simple… the Miami Heat will continue to improve. Players got injured during this series and by the end of it, the Lakers dominance was simply too much to handle.
As an overall grade for this season, despite not winning the NBA Championship, I still give the Miami Heat an A+. We saw Tyler Herro grow as the season went on.
We saw Duncan Robinson emerge as one of the premier three-point shooters in the entire NBA. We saw Jimmy Butler emerge as a true leader for the Miami Heat.
We saw Bam Adebayo make his presence known as a young and extremely talented player who should only continue to get better as time goes on. We will continue to see progress and this team should continue to make us proud.
I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this incredible Miami Heat squad and PopPop, I know you’re happy too. Thanks for taking this journey with me Heat Nation and know that next season, the Miami Heat should only continue to play championship-caliber basketball.