2013 Miami Heat

Miami's second title team was its best. The Heat went 66-16 and won 27 straight games between February and March, a run behind only the 1971-72 Lakers. James won the regular-season MVP. Ray Allen had signed the previous summer and gave the team another shooter.

The Finals against San Antonio went seven games and nearly went the other way. The Spurs led 3-2 and were up five late in Game 6, with the championship rope already set up courtside. Chris Bosh grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it to Allen in the right corner, and Allen tied the game with a three. Miami won in overtime.

Game 7 came down to the final minutes. James scored 37 and hit a jumper late to put it away, 95-88. He took his second straight Finals MVP. The series is often called one of the best the Finals have produced.

The Spurs would carry the Game 6 collapse into the next year and beat Miami in the 2014 Finals. For one summer, though, the repeat belonged to the Heat.

The starting five was Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Udonis Haslem. Erik Spoelstra coached the group with Ray Allen as the primary bench scorer.

This was title number 2 in a Miami Heat run that stretched across consecutive or near-consecutive seasons. Repeat winners carried continuity from one year to the next.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Shane Battier (made six threes in Game 7); Chris Andersen (midseason signing, energy big).

The 2013 title came in the modern era of load management, threes, and switch-heavy defense. The Miami Heat still had to win four series, usually against teams built to contend rather than tank.

The Miami Heat share a lineage with other banners from 2006, 2012. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 2012-13 Heat went 66-16 and ripped off a 27-game winning streak, the second longest in NBA history. They repeated as champions by beating the San Antonio Spurs in seven, the series Ray Allen rescued with a corner three to force overtime in Game 6. LeBron James scored 37 in Game 7 and won his second straight Finals MVP.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Miami Heat titles, use the franchise hub linked below.