The 2011–12 Miami Heat season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They came into the season as the defending Eastern Conference champions, the second season playing with the "Big Three" of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, and the fourth season under head coach Erik Spoelstra. Prior to the beginning of the season, they looked to bounce back from their disappointing finish to the previous year where they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
Following the 2011 NBA lockout, the Heat, like every other team in the league, played only 66 games this season. Despite a hot 28–7 start to the season, they struggled in their last 31 games, only going 18–13 the rest of the way, and eventually finishing with a 46–20 record, roughly the equivalent of 57–25. They won their division for the 9th time and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th time. For the second consecutive year, Wade, James, and Bosh were all selected to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, tying the record for the most Heat players sent to an All-Star game in franchise history.
In the playoffs, they met the New York Knicks in first round, reigniting the Heat-Knicks rivalry as it was their first postseason meeting since 2000. However, the notion of a heated rivalry fell flat as the Heat defeated the Knicks in 5 games, beating their arch rivals in a playoff series for the first time since 1997. Next, they faced Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals and defeated them in 6 games despite losing Bosh in Game 1 to injury. Then, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat met the Boston Celtics for their third consecutive postseason meeting. The Heat took a 2–0 series lead before losing 3 straight. However, the Heat forced a Game 7 thanks to an epic 45 point performance by James in Game 6. On June 9, 2012, the Heat won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and 3rd time in franchise history.
In the NBA Finals, the Heat faced the Oklahoma City Thunder, who entered the NBA Finals as favorites thanks to home court advantage. Despite losing Game 1 in Oklahoma City, the Heat battled back by winning the next three straight games to take a 3–1 series lead. On June 21, 2012, the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 121–106 Game 5 victory, winning the NBA Finals 4–1 to become the 2012 NBA Champions. This was the second NBA championship for the franchise, as well as the Heat's first since 2006. They also became the third (and final) team under the 2-3-2 format to win the middle three games at home, the others being their 2006 team and the 2004 Detroit Pistons. LeBron James won an NBA championship for the first time in his career, and was awarded the 2012 NBA Finals MVP. During their postseason run, the 2011-12 Miami Heat became the second team in NBA history to win a championship despite trailing three separate times in a postseason series (2–1 in the conference semifinals, 3–2 in the conference finals, and 0–1 in the NBA Finals), with the first being the 1995 Houston Rockets.
Key dates June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. December 9: The free agency period started. December 18: The Heat pre-season started with a game against the Orlando Magic. December 25: The Heat avenged their 2011 NBA Finals loss with a 105–94 win over the Dallas Mavericks to open the season. December 27: The Heat won their home opener against the Boston Celtics 115–107. February 7: With a 19–6 season start, the Heat marked their best start in franchise history. February 14: The Heat became the first team to win three road games (Hawks, Bucks, & Pacers) on three consecutive nights by double digits since the 1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks. February 23: The Heat went into the All Star Break with their best win percentage (.794) in team history. February 25–26: The 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend took place. April 3: The Heat clinched a playoff spot with a 99–93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. April 15: The Heat clinched a back to back (9th) Southeast Division title with a 93–85 win over the New York Knicks. April 22: The Heat defeated the Houston Rockets 97–88 in their final regular season home game. April 24: The Heat clinched the 2nd seed for the Eastern Conference after losing to the Boston Celtics 78–66. April 26: The Heat ended the regular season with a 104–70 loss against the Washington Wizards. May 9: The Heat defeated the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round, advancing to the Conference Semi-finals. May 24: The Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, advancing to the Conference Finals. June 9: The Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, advancing to the 2012 NBA Finals. June 21: The Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning the franchise's second championship. LeBron James was named NBA Finals MVP.
Season summary
When the Heat made it all the way to the finals in Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh's first year playing together, they were seen as heavy favorites from the Eastern Conference to return in 2012. The team's original starting lineup was: C – Joel Anthony PF – Chris Bosh SF – LeBron James SG – Dwyane Wade PG – Mario Chalmers
The starting lineup would go through many changes as the season went on. The finals lineup in the NBA Finals is listed above.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/Team 2 31 Bojan Bogdanović (traded to Minnesota Timberwolves) SF/SG Fenerbahçe Ülker
Roster
Pre-season
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | December 18 | Orlando | | LeBron James (19) | Udonis Haslem (9) | Norris Cole (8) | American Airlines Arena20,100 | 1–0 |- bgcolor="ffcccc" | 2 | December 21 | @ Orlando | | LeBron James (27) | Chris Bosh (7) | Chris Bosh (4) | Amway Center19,045 | 1–1
Regular season
Standings
Game log
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | December 25 | @ Dallas | | LeBron James (37) | Udonis Haslem (14) | LeBron JamesDwyane Wade (6) | American Airlines Center20,421 | 1–0 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | December 27 | Boston | | LeBron James (26) | Udonis Haslem (12) | Dwyane Wade (8) | American Airlines Arena20,166 | 2–0 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | December 28 | @ Charlotte | | LeBron James (35) | Bosh, James & Haslem (6) | LeBron James (7) | Time Warner Cable Arena19,614 | 3–0 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | December 30 | @ Minnesota | | LeBron James (34) | Chris BoshUdonis Haslem (9) | LeBron James (10) | Target Center19,356 | 4–0
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | January 1 | Charlotte | | Chris Bosh (24) | Chris Bosh (10) | Norris Cole (9) | American Airlines Arena20,016 | 5–0 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | January 2 | Atlanta | | LeBron James (28) | Udonis Haslem (10) | Dwyane Wade (10) | American Airlines Arena20,078 | 5–1 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | January 4 | Indiana | | LeBron James (33) | Udonis Haslem (10) | LeBron James (13) | American Airlines Arena20,201 | 6–1 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | January 5 | @ Atlanta | | Chris Bosh (33) | Chris BoshTerrel Harris (14) | Mario Chalmers (8) | Philips Arena18,371 | 7–1 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | January 7 | @ New Jersey | | LeBron James (32) | Udonis Haslem (12) | LeBron James (9) | Prudential Center18,711 | 8–1 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 10 | January 10 | @ Golden State | | Dwyane Wade (34) | LeBron James (11) | LeBron James (7) | Oracle Arena19,596 | 8–2 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | January 11 | @ L. A. Clippers | | LeBron James (23) | LeBron James (13) | LeBron James (7) | Staples Center19,341 | 8–3 |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 | January 13 | @ Denver | | LeBron James (35) | Udonis Haslem (11) | LeBron James (6) | Pepsi Center19,155 | 8–4 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | January 17 | San Antonio | | LeBron James (33) | Chris Bosh (8) | LeBron James (10) | American Airlines Arena19,600 | 9–4 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 14 | January 19 | L. A. Lakers | | LeBron James (31) | Bosh, James & Haslem (8) | LeBron James (8) | American Airlines Arena20,004 | 10–4 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | January 21 | Philadelphia | | Chris Bosh (30) | Udonis Haslem (10) | Mario Chalmers (8) | American Airlines Arena19,725 | 11–4 |- bgcolor=#ffcccc | 16 | January 22 | Milwaukee | | LeBron James (28) | LeBron James (13) | LeBron James (5) | American Airlines Arena19,600 | 11–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | January 24 | Cleveland | | Chris Bosh (35) | Udonis Haslem (10) | LeBron James (5) | American Airlines Arena 19,600 | 12–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 18 | January 25 | @ Detroit | | LeBron James (32) | LeBron James (6) | LeBron James (7) | The Palace of Auburn Hills18,058 | 13–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | January 27 | New York | | LeBron James (31) | Chris Bosh (9) | LeBron James (7) | American Airlines Arena19,707 | 14–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | January 29 | Chicago | | LeBron James (35) | Chris Bosh (12) | Dwyane Wade (7) | American Airlines Arena20,054 | 15–5 |- bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | January 30 | New Orleans | | LeBron JamesDwyane Wade (22) | LeBron James (11) | LeBron James (8) | American Airlines Arena19,600 | 16–5
|- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 22 | February 1 | @ Milwaukee | | LeBron James (40) | Chris Bosh (9) | Dwyane Wade (6) | Bradley Center 10,265 | 16–6 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 23 | February 3 | @ Philadelphia | | Dwyane Wade (26) | LeBron James (8) | LeBron James (12) | Wells Fargo Center20,694 | 17–6 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 24 | February 5 | Toronto | | LeBron James (30) | LeBron James (9) | LeBron James (4) | American Airlines Arena19,802 | 18–6 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 25 | February 7 | Cleveland | | Dwyane Wade (26) | LeBron James (6) | Chris Bosh (9) | American Airlines Arena20,078 | 19–6 |- bgcolor=#ffcccc | 26 | February 8 | @ Orlando | | Dwyane Wade (33) | LeBron James(10) | Chris Bosh (9) | Amway Center18,972 | 19–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 27 | February 10 | @ Washington | | Dwyane Wade (26) | LeBron James (9) | Udonis Haslem (12) | Verizon Center20,282 | 20–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 28 | February 12 | @ Atlanta | | LeBron James (23) | LeBron James (6) | Chris Bosh (26) | Philips Arena18,371 | 21–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 29 | February 13 | @ Milwaukee | | LeBron James (35) | Mike Miller (8) | Chris Bosh (4) | Bradley Center16,749 | 22–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 30 | February 14 | @ Indiana | | LeBron James (23) | LeBron James (9) | LeBron James (7) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse18,165 | 23–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 31 | February 17 | @ Cleveland | | LeBron James (28) | Chris Bosh (12) | LeBron JamesMario Chalmers (5) | Quicken Loans Arena20,562 | 24–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 32 | February 19 | Orlando | | Dwyane Wade (27) | LeBron James (11) | LeBron James (8) | American Airlines Arena20,185 | 25–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 33 | February 21 | Sacramento | | Dwyane Wade (30) | Chris Bosh (10) | Dwyane Wade (10) | American Airlines Arena20,068 | 26–7 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 34 | February 23 | New York | | Chris Bosh (25) | Udonis HaslemLeBron James (9) | LeBron James (8) | American Airlines Arena20,197 | 27–7 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break
|- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 35 | March 1 | @ Portland | | LeBron James (38) | Udonis Haslem (14) | Dwyane Wade (10) | Rose Garden20,597 | 28–7 |- bgcolor=#ffcccc | 36 | March 2 | @ Utah | | LeBron James (35) | LeBron James (10) | LeBron James (6) | EnergySolutions Arena19,991 | 28–8 |- bgcolor=#ffcccc | 37 | March 4 | @ L. A. Lakers | | LeBron James (25) | LeBron James (13) | LeBron James (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 28–9 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 38 | March 6 | New Jersey | | LeBron James (21) | LeBron James (9) | Mario Chalmers (7) | American Airlines Arena19,600 | 29–9 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 39 | March 7 | Atlanta | | LeBron James (31) | LeBron James (11) | Dwyane Wade (6) | American Airlines Arena20,018 | 30–9 |- bgcolor=#ccffcc | 40 | March 10 | Indiana | | Dwyane Wade (28)