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Promise: Fulfilled

Authored by Andrew Friedman - June 21, 2006 - 2:12 am

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From Jordan to Houston to Wallace, there have been too many Heat-killers. From Stein to Bucher to Anthony, there have been too many critics. From kidneys to knees to ribs, there have been too many setbacks. For 18 years, there has been too much adversity and too much disappointment in Miami.

But for once, everything went right. A promise by Shaquille O’Neal was fulfilled. A superstar, Dwyane Wade, transcended into superhuman status. And a questioned basketball god, Pat Riley, defied his greatest critics and detractors.

After a summer and a season of underachieving and drastic changes, no one understood Riley’s vision. Except for Riley himself. And his 15-strong lineup as well as coaches and personnel. It took the rest of the world until the final buzzer sounded of game six of the 2006 NBA Finals to realize. The Miami Heat is officially the greatest team in the NBA, and it happened just as Pat Riley envisioned.

Walker and Williams went out shooting. Payton went out talking.
Mourning went out blocking. Posey, Haslem and Anderson went out hustling. Wade and O’Neal went out a dominant duo. The Heat went out on top..

The Miami Heat are the 2006 NBA Champions and more than just a promise by O’Neal was fulfilled. A team of players and coaches with unfulfilled legacies now have their mark permanently engraved in basketball greatness. And a group of fans who have waited as many as 18 years for a Heat title can now sit easy. At least for the summer.