The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems.
Patrick James Riley is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president and minority owner of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. Often referred to as "The Godfather", Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA figures of all time both as a coach and executive. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player (1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach, and executive. Since the start of his NBA career through 2023, Riley appeared in 25 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
Richard Preston Carlisle is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Carlisle played for the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and New Jersey Nets. He is one of only 11 people to win an NBA championship as both a player and a coach.
Jerry Darnell Stackhouse is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Stackhouse played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was a two-time NBA All-Star. He was the head coach of Raptors 905 and an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies. Additionally, he has worked as an NBA TV analyst.
William Laimbeer Jr. is an American former professional basketball coach and player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his physical style of play, he played a big part in the Pistons earning the nickname the “Bad Boys" in the mid-1980s before helping them win back-to-back NBA championships.
Derrick Allen Mahorn is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a radio analyst for the Detroit Pistons, works as a co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio, and during the summer is the head coach of the Aliens of the BIG3.
Donald Ray Chaney is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of The Year while leading the Houston Rockets.
Stanley Alan Van Gundy is an American former basketball coach who is a television commentator for NBA on TNT and College Basketball on CBS. Prior to TNT, he was most recently the head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA. He also served as the head coach and president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons from 2014 to 2018. From 2003 to 2005, he was the head coach of the Miami Heat but resigned in 2005 mid-season, returning the job over to Pat Riley. Van Gundy then coached the Orlando Magic for five seasons from 2007 to 2012, leading them to the 2009 NBA Finals. He is the older brother of former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy.
Rex Andrew Walters Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was the associate head coach at Wake Forest University under Danny Manning. Prior to Wake Forest, he spent time at Nevada under Eric Musselman. He has made head coaching stops with the Grand Rapids Drive, the University of San Francisco and Florida Atlantic University.
Brendan Thomas Malone was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Richard Adam Adubato is an American former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic.
Corey Yasuto Gaines is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. He was also a former head coach of the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 64th season for the Pistons, the 57th in the National Basketball Association, and the 48th in the Detroit area. During the offseason, the Pistons signed free agent Antonio McDyess. Coming off their upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Pistons began the season playing around .500. However, things would get out of control at the end of a November 19 game against the Indiana Pacers, when a huge brawl occurred between Pacers players and Pistons fans after Ben Wallace and Ron Artest got into a shoving match. As the season progressed, the Pistons would post an 11-game winning streak near the end of the season, and would eventually finish first overall in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 54–28 record. Ben Wallace was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, and was selected for the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.
Erik Jon Spoelstra, nicknamed "Coach Spo", is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team. Spoelstra is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the league and one of the greatest of all time. He has won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Filipino American, Spoelstra is the first Asian American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues and the first Asian American head coach to win an NBA title.
The 2008–09 Miami Heat season was the 21st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The 2006–07 Miami Heat season was the 19th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat, for the first time in franchise history, entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals in six games. On January 3, 2007, head coach Pat Riley took a leave of absence citing hip and knee problems and was replaced by Ron Rothstein. Despite injuries to several players, including Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, the Heat repeated as Southeast division champions. With a record of 44–38, it was clear that the Heat was not the same team of years past. The Heat ended the season with a four-game playoff loss in a sweep to the Chicago Bulls in the first round and the Heat became the first defending NBA champions since the Philadelphia Warriors back in 1957 to be swept in the first round. Following the season, Gary Payton retired.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 45th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th season in the city of Detroit. During the off-season, the Pistons signed free agent Terry Mills, and acquired Olden Polynice from the Los Angeles Clippers. Under new head coach Ron Rothstein, the Pistons years of battle would catch up with them as they lost nine of their first eleven games. However, they would win ten of their next eleven games to climb back into playoff connection, but then slip below .500 holding a 21–29 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Orlando Woolridge to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for All-Star guard Alvin Robertson. After posting many winning and losing streaks throughout the entire season, the Pistons missed the playoffs for the first time in ten years, finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 40–42 record.
Tony Fiorentino is an American television color commentator, most recently for the Miami Heat. Fiorentino has been involved with the Heat organization since it entered the NBA, joining the team in 1988 as an assistant coach under Ron Rothstein. He also served as an assistant coach for the Heat under Alvin Gentry and Pat Riley, and later served as an assistant coach with the Heat's WNBA sister team, the Miami Sol. He became the Heat's main television color commentator in 2004, replacing Mike Fratello. On June 9, 2017, The Miami Heat announced that Fiorentino would call his 15th and final season as the team's television analyst. On April 11, 2018, Fiorentino was honored in a halftime ceremony during the final regular season game against the Toronto Raptors. Fiorentino remains with the team, serving as both a Miami Heat Ambassador and as the Director for the franchise's very popular summer basketball camp program.
David Sean Fizdale is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was an associate general manager for the Utah Jazz, an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, the head coach for the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies, and was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat. He won two championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013.
