Miami once played home to an ABA team known as the Floridians, and got its first NBA team in 1988 as part of a two-phase expansion that also included Orlando Magic, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Charlotte Hornets. It got its name after a contest where Flamingos was in close second. It made a major step in acquiring superstar center Shaquille O'Neal on July 4, 2004. Another important team player is Alonzo Mourning, who is simply known as “Zo". Zo has earned NBA Defensive Player of The Year Award twice and is always placed on the NBA All-defensive team. He made a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant. The franchise won its first NBA title in the 2005-2006 NBA season against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Heats home uniform is in white and the road uniform is in black. The team also sports an alternate red jersey, which was introduced during the 2001-2002 season, and is the unofficial Heat road uniform during the NBA Playoffs. They are also the only NBA team to place the NBA logo on the right shoulder instead of having it on the left.