The Most Insane NBA Expansion Team Ever – The 1988 Miami Heat
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Today, we’re going to talk about my favorite NBA expansion team ever. A collection of good to not-so-great players, all buying in to launch the Miami Heat franchise in 1988. Except, they sucked. The 1988 Miami Heat couldn’t shoot, couldn’t pass, couldn’t dribble, and they ended up being on the wrong side of NBA history.
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39 Comments
Best product plug ever!
Pearlman c'mon! Washington isn't your all time favorite player.
Joe Sewell, would love to hear about him!
Heat Fan since 89 the team is 1yr older than me I grew up on the Heat.🔥💯
Put some respeck on the greatest 12th man on the 1990 pistons
My uncle Jon Sundvold set an NBA single-season record by leading the league with a 52.17% three-point percentage that season.
Thanks Jeff for unlocking a great memory for me. I grew up in central Florida on the coast. My Dad drove my brother and I a few hours down to Miami to watch this team. It was my first ever NBA game and first ever trip to Miami.
Always wondered what happened to Pearl Washington after his Syracuse days. Also didn't know Seikley was a Heat from year 1.
Go CUSE!! Seikley and Pearl 🔥🔥🔥
Man this guy is my favorite. He is so knowledgeable not just in sports but the athletes who play the sports he covers. Awesome Author/Writer ( investigator 😅) Love The Chronicles
Booooo Pat Williams booooooo
Crazy how the Heat went from 15-67 to the first of those expansion teams to make the playoffs and the only one to win a NBA title. Orlando has only been to two NBA Finals(and got smoked both times) while Minnesota and Charlotte haven't even got that far.
my uncle was the pg Rory Sparrow
The Miami Arena was razed in 2008, just 20 years after it opened. The Heat left during the 1999-2000 season.
The first few years, Heat games were Miami’s largest meat market — singles showed up to mingle, knowing the Heat would lose. Not that there weren’t hoops fans, but most weren’t exactly that sophisticated. A screen is what kept the mosquitos out of the house.
You're going to have to do a Panthers and Marlins too
Ironically, the Broncos weren’t an expansion team
You could argue that Seikaly was the best Heat player before Wade
you missed some of the more colorful behind the scenes stories that first season, including the postponed game due to the overtown riots, the pearl washington (rip) vs armen gilliam fight in the locker room during the game, the rivalry win vs hornets, how the team started in the western conference that inaugural season, amongst others. grant long played 15 seasons in the nba and only gets a quick mention in the end? pearl didnt start the inaugural game, rory sparrow started at pg and was signed two days prior to opening night. it's as if your producers only watched the commemorative video…
Someone sent me this. My uncle was part owner of a number of buildings close to the arena. There was a MASSIVE cocaine problem at the time, and they would often catch players in cars getting their fix.
Can you do a deep analysis of Isiah Thomas and his post basketball journey? He's perhaps the most misunderstood GM, scout, and coach, and business man. He was a brilliant TV analyst. He coined the phrase "bring your A game", which has become much of 90's/ 00's pop culture. Most of his drafts picks have gone on to have 10 yr plus careers. Yet as a head coach, and business man, he's been a disaster.
That was the year we moved to Miami. I was 8. I remember them giving away posters and sometimes free tickets from
Burger King to fill the arena…
I was the first person in my Junior High (Herbert Slater Junior High Santa Rosa, California) to get / rock the Heat Starter Jacket. I wasn't a clout chaser at 12 but everyone else wore either LA Kings, LA Raiders or a local team, Giants, A's Warriors or 49ers and I got a lot of positive praise for rocking that jacket even though the team obviously wasn't that good.
Dude you have a small following but your engagement is bigger than 100k followers.
No mention of owners Billy Cunningham and Louis Schaffel? 12:27 At least not in first 13 minutes. In fact, the team improved when bought out by Carnival Cruise, and the hiring of Pat Riley.
The Hornets are in year 21 now and still stuck Will we ever see the Hornets as the Heat?
This host says he remembers when the New York Mets came along.. this host was not even born when the Mets came about
Your hat made my sons throw up
Ron Rothstein was my high school basketball coach. He was intense!
Fun fact. Uwe Blab was my coach at middle school Hoosier basketball camp.
First win against the Clippers: https://youtu.be/Xffsw1Y1pMg?si=WyTzfOHx7AGxpChu
I love you Jeff, you named Jimmy Butler, but left Lebron "livestrong" James out your damn mouth!
Miami a ghost town? Griselda Blanco said no ..lol
Jeff – love your work. Huge fan of Showtime and everything NBA you do. This video’s another great one.
Not to nitpick, but just a small note – Arvid Kramer played eight games with the Nuggets in the 1980 season.
1st win against the clips was so awesome. Sad it was on the road though. Heat Lifer, day 1 until today. #Heatin5
Back when real men wore short shorts… What is it about the early 2000s that is the most awful era for sports fashion?… You have 6'-7' 200+ pound men wearing uniforms that were still 3 sizes to big… Awful
Thanks for another great vid, Jeff.
I think the reason people kind of enjoy bad expansion teams is, maybe we feel a little closer to them; we're separated by less. I could never do what Magic Johnson did, but hell, even i could keep up with ol' Pearl, lol. And losing teams are easy to idebtify with, moreso than the Lakers or the Yankees or classic "winners". Most average folks have a lot more Miami Heat moments in their lives than LA Laker moments.
As a DePaul alum who grew up rooting for Seikaly, Douglas and Thompson growing up in Syracuse, I should love the Heat. However, I’m also a Knicks diehard. Sooooo, screw the Heat!
Growing pains,thats the Pistons after 2007-08.we were the Eastern Conference bullies for like 4-5 years inna row but we're coming
I was part of a group who sang national anthem at pistons game, against these Heat.