The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2005–06 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. It featured the Dallas Mavericks of the Western Conference and the Miami Heat of the Eastern Conference. The Heat overcame a two-games-to-none series deficit to defeat the Mavericks in six games, winning their first NBA championship in franchise history.
The Mavericks were heavy favorites to win the championship over the Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat pulled off the upset, becoming the third team—after the 1969 Celtics, the 1977 Trail Blazers and later the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2021 Milwaukee Bucks—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
For the first time since , the series featured two teams that had never previously appeared in the Finals; and it was the first Finals since where neither team had previously won an NBA title. As of , this is the last NBA Finals between teams that have never previously won a championship before.
This was the second NBA Finals match-up of teams from Florida and Texas, after the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic contested the 1995 NBA Finals. Until the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals, it was the last Finals loss by a team from Texas (Houston lost in 1981 and 1986) versus eight Finals victories (five by San Antonio, two by Houston, and one by Dallas) including the Spurs in 2007 and the Mavericks in 2011. This was the only Finals of the 2000s not to involve the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs, and the first since 1995 not to feature either Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich as head coach. It was also the first Finals where the same company (American Airlines) owned the naming rights to both home arenas, namely American Airlines Center in Dallas and American Airlines Arena in Miami; Miami's arena name has since changed to Kaseya Center.
Background The Miami Heat joined the league in the 1988–89 season, but they did not rise to prominence until they hired Pat Riley to be their head coach and president before the 1995–96 season. In Riley's first stint, the Heat were playoff regulars between 1996 and 2001, however, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks always thwarted Miami's dreams of a championship or even a Finals berth. However, when the team drafted Dwyane Wade fifth overall in 2003, things started to look up for the Heat. They went 42-40 under interim coach Stan Van Gundy, making the playoffs after a 2-year hiatus. They defeated the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, but they ultimately fell to the Pacers in 6 games.http://nba-historical-teams.pointafter.com/l/284/2003-2004-Miami-Heat The 2004 offseason saw the addition of Shaquille O'Neal, and with Wade and O'Neal performing well, the Heat won 59 games in the 2004–05 season, as they took the defending champions Detroit Pistons to seven games in the conference finals. The following season, after an early 11–10 start, Van Gundy resigned and Riley returned to coaching. Though injuries and lack of chemistry hobbled the Heat initially, they still managed to win 52 games that season. After a culmination of harmony and momentum came together just before the playoffs, they started their postseason run by defeating the Bulls in six games, then eliminated the New Jersey Nets in five games, and then ousted the 64-win 4 all-star Pistons in six games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Path to the Finals
Dallas Mavericks (Western Conference champion) Miami Heat (Eastern Conference champion)4th seed in the West, 3rd best league recordRegular season2nd seed in the East, 5th best league recordDefeated the (5) Memphis Grizzlies, 4–0First roundDefeated the (7) Chicago Bulls, 4–2Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–3Conference semifinalsDefeated the (3) New Jersey Nets, 4–1Defeated the (2) Phoenix Suns, 4–2Conference finalsDefeated the (1) Detroit Pistons, 4–2
Regular-season series The Dallas Mavericks won both games in the regular season series:
Rosters
Miami Heat
Dallas Mavericks
Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton became the 6th and 7th players to play in the NBA Finals for three different teams. O'Neal played in the 1995 NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic and four times with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Payton played in the 1996 NBA Finals with the Seattle SuperSonics and with O'Neal on the 2004 Lakers team that lost to the Pistons. The other players to play in the Finals for three teams are: Danny Ainge, Sam Perkins, John Salley, Horace Grant, Robert Horry and now LeBron James with the Cavs, Heat and the Lakers as well as Danny Green with the Spurs, Raptors and the same Lakers squad as LeBron. Also, O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning achieved the rare feat of being the former first-round picks from the same year (1992) to win a championship with the same team. O'Neal was the first overall draft pick of the Orlando Magic, while Mourning went second to the Charlotte Hornets. Ironically, the third pick in that draft, Christian Laettner (who was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves), was a member of the previous year's team, his final season before retiring.
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 8 Miami Heat 80–90 (0–1) Dallas Mavericks Game 2 June 11 Miami Heat 85–99 (0–2) Dallas Mavericks Game 3 June 13 Dallas Mavericks 96–98 (2–1) Miami Heat Game 4 June 15 Dallas Mavericks 74–98 (2–2) Miami Heat Game 5 June 18 Dallas Mavericks 100–101 (OT) (2–3) Miami Heat Game 6 June 20 Miami Heat 95–92 (4–2) Dallas Mavericks
The Heat became the second team since 1985 to sweep the middle three games at home, the 2004 Detroit Pistons being the first. In 1985 the NBA switched the Finals to the 2-3-2 format, which was changed back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the 2014 NBA Finals.
Game summaries All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Game 1
Dallas's Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Game 2
Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 30-point and 12-rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised to a 2–0 series lead.
Game 3
Led by Dwyane Wade's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by a Gary Payton field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami.
Game 4
Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals. Jerry Stackhouse committed a flagrant foul that resulted in his suspension for Game 5. Stackhouse was the final NBA player to be suspended in the NBA Finals until Draymond Green in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Game 5
Dwyane Wade shot 25 free throws—as many as all the Mavericks combined (a fact that did not sit well with Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson), leading the Heat to their third straight win.
With 9.1 seconds left in overtime and the Heat trailing by 1 point, they inbounded the ball to Wade, who caught the ball in the air and then landed in the backcourt. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban felt Wade had therefore committed a backcourt violation after receiving the ball.
Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left. Wade hit the first free throw, and Dallas coach Avery Johnson signaled to his team to call a timeout after Wade's second attempt. Josh Howard then made a timeout gesture with his hands and began to walk off the floor, and the referees called the Mavericks' last remaining timeout, which prevented them from advancing the ball after the second attempt if Wade converted. After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after which Devin Harris missed a half-court shot as time expired. Wade finished the game with 43 points while setting an NBA Finals record for most made free throws in a game with 21.usatoday.com, No backcourt violation on winning possession, NBA says, accessed May 5, 2007. Shaquille O'Neal had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Miami converted 32 of its 49 attempts from the free-throw line.
Jason Terry led Dallas with 35 points, while Howard added 25. After the game, a frustrated Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in fines of $5,000 and $250,000, respectively.espn.com, Cuban fined $250K for actions after Game 5, accessed May 5, 2007.
Game 6
Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to win its first championship in franchise history as Jason Terry missed a 3-pointer that would have sent the game to overtime. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the series, Wade was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Player statistics
Miami Heat
| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 7.7 || .333 || .000 || .500 || 1.8 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.5 |- | align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1.2 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 29.2 || .500 || .000 || .300 || 6.2 || 0.3 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 6.5 |- | align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 11.0 || .692 || .000 || .667 || 3.2 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 1.5 || 4.3 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 35.2 || .607 || .000 || .292 || 10.2 || 2.8 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 13.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 22.3 || .368 || .143 || .333 || 2.0 || 2.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 2.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 29.5 || .419 || .400 || .769 || 6.0 || 0.3 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 7.3 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 43.5 || .468 || .273 || .773 || 7.8 || 3.8 || 2.7 || 1.0 || 34.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 36.6 || .391 || .270 || .556 || 5.5 || 2.2 || 0.7 || 0.5 || 13.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 31.3 || .360 || .345 || .636 || 1.8 || 4.7 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 8.8
Dallas Mavericks
| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 6.3 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 24.6 || .722 || .000 || .500 || 8.2 || 0.3 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 5.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 8.8 || .545 || .333 || .800 || 0.5 || 1.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 15.7 || .500 || .000 || .500 || 3.3 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 1.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 3 || 13.7 || .563 || .000 || .000 || 3.2 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 3.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 3 || 24.5 || .364 || .000 || .750 || 0.8 || 2.8 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 7.3 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 38.4 || .388 || .263 || .808 || 8.2 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 0.7 || 14.7 |- | align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 4.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 43.7 || .390 || .250 || .891 || 10.8 || 2.5 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 22.8 |- | align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 3.6 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 30.0 || .355 || .368 || .929 || 3.4 || 3.0 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 12.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 40.0 || .478 || .317 || .733 || 2.2 || 3.5 || 1.8 || 0.0 || 22.0 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 7.8 || .273 || .167 || .0000 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.4
Broadcasting