The Miami Heat have experienced plenty of success since they entered the NBA as an expansion franchise for the 1988-89 season. From Dwyane Wade to LeBron James to Alonzo Mourning, they’ve laid claim to some of the greatest players in the league’s history.

But how many times has this franchise actually reached the top of the mountain and earned an NBA championship?

Miami Heat have won three NBA championships

The Miami Heat have had varying levels of success over the course of their history.

They didn’t reach the pinnacle of success until nearly two decades after their creation. Shortly after acquiring star center Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Heat rode the big man and rising star guard Dwyane Wade to the 2006 title. Miami secured the championship over the Dallas Mavericks after overcoming a 2-0 series deficit and winning the next four games.

The South Beach residents then went several years without competing for an NBA title until they put together their Big Three of Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh in 2010.

The Heatles, positioned as villains in the Association, fell short in their first bid for a title, blowing a 2-0 series lead to the Mavericks in the NBA Finals by losing four consecutive games. However, they bounced back and won the next two titles over the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.

Miami advanced to a fourth consecutive Finals appearance in 2014 but fell to the Spurs in five games.

Since then, the Heat have advanced to the ultimate stage twice more. Playing in the Orlando bubble amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, they made it to the Finals before losing to James’ Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Three years later, they returned for a matchup against the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets, who defeated them 4-1.

Behind Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and head coach Erik Spoelstra, as well as a litany of productive undrafted gems, Miami is in prime position to compete for further championships. But for now, the organization remains stuck at three titles.