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.
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career for the Heat.
Edward Charles Jones is an American former professional basketball player who played for five teams in his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career. Jones played college basketball at Temple University and was the 1993–94 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He led the Owls to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament. The three-time NBA All-Star was selected 10th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Daniel Lewis Majerle, also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He won a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and a gold medal at the 1994 FIBA World Championship.
Michael Lloyd Miller is an American basketball coach, former professional player who is the boys' basketball head coach at Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, as well as being a sports agent. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being selected by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2000 NBA draft with the fifth overall pick. Miller was named the NBA Rookie of the Year with the Magic in 2001 and was voted NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006. He won two consecutive NBA championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.
Ronald Fred Seikaly is a Lebanese-American former professional basketball player. He was one of the first internationally born players to make an impact on American basketball. Considered one of the top college players from the Syracuse basketball program, Seikaly's stellar offense and defense placed him among the school's all-time leaders in rebounds, points and blocks, while earning several nationally recognized awards and honors. Drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Miami Heat with the 9th pick of the 1988 draft and the first-ever pick for the Heat, Seikaly developed into one of the best centers in the NBA and the team's top offensive and defensive contributors—winning NBA player of the week twice—and also amassing many of the team's records . His career highs with the Heat are 40 points, 34 rebounds, 8 blocks, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Seikaly earned the 1990 NBA Most Improved Player Award and later played for the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets and in Spain with FC Barcelona. He was also part of the United States national basketball team during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning gold. After his retirement from basketball, Seikaly became a successful real estate developer. He also works in electronic music as a producer/DJ, and hosted his radio show, Sugar Free Radio, on Sirius/XM.
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their inaugural season.
Ricardo "Ricky" Sánchez Rosa is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player who most recently played for Grises de Humacao of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers out of IMG Academy with the 35th pick of the 2005 NBA draft, becoming the fourth Puerto Rican to be drafted by the National Basketball Association, and was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets for their selection, Jarrett Jack. He has played for the Puerto Rican national basketball team. He is the last player to be drafted by the NBA while still a minor, drafted 8 days before his 18th birthday.
Shandon Rodriguez Anderson is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1996 to 2006. Growing up in Atlanta, Anderson attended the University of Georgia and played for four teams during his ten-year NBA career after being drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1996: the Jazz, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Miami Heat. He played the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Willie Lloyd Anderson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. During his professional career, Anderson played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and three seasons in the EuroLeague. He was named to the 1988–89 NBA season's All-Rookie First Team. While he was a member of the Greek Basket League club AEK Athens, he played in the 1998 EuroLeague Final. Anderson won an Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team in 1988.
Alec Christopher Kessler was an American college basketball player for the University of Georgia and later, as a professional, for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in the Italian league for Olimpia Stefanel Milano. After his basketball career ended, he became an orthopedic surgeon.
William Stansbury “Billy” Thompson is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association and other leagues. He spent a 5-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, and registered one minute of court time with the Golden State Warriors in late 1991.
Rory Darnell Sparrow is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Kevin Durell Edwards is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as DePaul University men's basketball team's director of community, corporate, and professional relations. Edwards was selected by the Miami Heat with the 20th overall pick of the 1988 NBA draft. Edwards was the second ever draft pick in Miami Heat history, behind teammate Rony Seikaly who was selected as the 9th pick in the same draft.
Orlando Graham is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 1988 NBA draft. Graham was born in Montgomery, Alabama and graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in 1984. A 6'8" forward, Graham played two seasons for Auburn University at Montgomery. He earned First-Team All-American honors and became the first Senator to win the NAIA Player of the Year Award during the 1987–88 season. Graham played in only one NBA season for the Golden State Warriors during the 1988-89 NBA season. He appeared in 7 games and scored a total of 8 points in his brief NBA career. Graham was the fifth ever draft pick in Miami Heat history. Orlando Graham was also selected as an candidate for 1988 Men's Olympic Basketball team in representing USA. Graham is one of just two former Senators to play professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of four AUM men's basketball players to have his jersey retired.
Darren Keefe Daye is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, at a height of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), and a weight of 220 lb (100 kg), he played as a shooting guard and small forward.
Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Oden, a 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) center, played college basketball at Ohio State University for one season, during which the team was the Big Ten Conference regular season champion and Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament champion with Oden as the tournament MOP. Additionally, Oden and the Buckeyes were the tournament runner-up in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
The 1988 NBA expansion draft was the eighth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 23, 1988, so that the newly founded Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat could acquire players for the upcoming 1988–89 season. Charlotte and Miami had been awarded the expansion teams on April 22, 1987. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-three other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Hornets and the Heat selected eleven and twelve unprotected players respectively, one from each team. Prior to the draft, the league conducted a coin flip between the Hornets and the Heat to decide their draft order in this expansion draft and in the 1988 NBA draft. The Hornets won the coin flip and chose to have the higher pick in the 1988 Draft, thus allowing the Heat to receive the first selection and the right to select twelve players in this expansion draft.
The 1988–89 Miami Heat season was Miami's inaugural season in the NBA. The Heat were the first of two expansion teams to play in the state of Florida over a two-year period, and along with the Charlotte Hornets, joined the NBA in 1988. The team revealed a new primary logo of a red basketball on fire going through a hoop, and got new uniforms adding red and black to their color scheme.
Arvid Kramer is a retired American professional basketball player, mostly known for being the first overall pick by the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31, and furthermore being the only player to be selected in two expansion drafts and never playing for the teams that drafted him. He is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall and 220 pounds (100 kg) and played at the center position during most of his basketball career.
