The Miami Heat came very close to winning the ultimate prize, falling short at the NBA Finals at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a Cinderella-type of story, the Miami Heat managed to make it all the way to the NBA Finals in an NBA bubble where most teams seemed to fall apart under that pressure.
Despite being the underdogs all season long, they defied all odds and accomplished something that pretty much nobody had anticipated.
The preseason power rankings had them barely making the 2020 playoffs, let alone making it out of the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler and Co. turned out to be a particularly tough bunch, something like an entirely different breed.
After defeating the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, all of which were higher-seeded teams than the Heat, the vast majority of the entire basketball world started to root for them. People usually live for a story like that.
Despite leaving it all on the court on a nightly basis, the Heat were quite disappointing in the ultimate game of the 2019-20 NBA postseason. Maybe the energy tanks ran out or maybe the pressure was just too much but the unfortunate truth is that they did not go out fighting.
The Heat managed to take two games in that series, Games 3 and 5. In those games, one could be nothing but impressed at the way the Heat played the game. Even though they were clearly the least talented team, their hustle and desire to win was what took them over the edge.
This is only the beginning for Heat Nation. Their young roster will only go on to improve in the following seasons and the sky is their only limit. They will, however, have to avoid repeating their actions in the game that ultimately decided it all.