2006 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Miami Heat Pat Riley 4 Dallas Mavericks Avery Johnson 2
Dates	June 8–20
MVP	Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Hall of Famers	Heat: Alonzo Mourning (2014) Shaquille O'Neal (2016) Gary Payton (2013) Dwyane Wade (2023) Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (2023) Coaches: Pat Riley (2008) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Danny Crawford (2025)
Eastern finals	Heat defeatedPistons, 4–2
Western finals	Mavericks defeatedSuns, 4–2
← 2005 NBA Finals 2007 →

The2006 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2005–06 season, and the conclusion ofthe season's playoffs. TheDallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over theMiami Heat.^[1] Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in six games over the Mavericks, becoming the third team—after the1969 Celtics, the1977 Trail Blazers and later the2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and2021 Milwaukee Bucks—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series.Dwyane Wade of the Heat was namedMost Valuable Player of the series.^[2]

The series featured two teams who had never previously appeared in the Finals for the first time since1971, and it was consequently the first Finals since1978 where neither team had previously won an NBA title. The next Finals appearance for both franchises would come five years later in2011, with the Mavericks winning the rematch over the Heat.

This was the second NBA Finals match-up of teams from Florida and Texas, after theHouston Rockets andOrlando Magic contested the1995 NBA Finals. Until the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the2013 NBA Finals, it was the last Finals loss by a team from Texas (Houston lost in 1981 and 1986) versus eight Finals victories (five by San Antonio, two by Houston, and one by Dallas) including the Spurs in2007 and the Mavericks in2011. This was the only Finals of the 2000s not to involve theLos Angeles Lakers or theSan Antonio Spurs, and the first since 1995 not to feature either Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich as head coach. Notably it was also the first Finals where the same company (American Airlines) owned the naming rights to both home arenas, namelyAmerican Airlines Center in Dallas and American Airlines Arena in Miami; Miami's arena name has since changed toKaseya Center. This was also the last Finals until2025 to have both teams trying to get their respective cities their first NBA title.

The Miami Heat joined the league in the1988–89 season, but they did not rise to prominence until they hiredPat Riley to be their head coach and president before the1995–96 season. In Riley's first stint, the Heat were playoff regulars between 1996 and 2001, however, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks always thwarted Miami's dreams of a championship or even a Finals berth. However, when the team drafted Dwyane Wade fifth overall in 2003, things started to look up for the Heat. They went 42-40 under interim coachStan Van Gundy, making the playoffs after a 2-year hiatus. They defeated the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, but they ultimately fell to the Pacers in 6 games.^[3] The 2004 offseason saw the addition ofShaquille O'Neal, and with Wade and O'Neal performing well, the Heat won 59 games in the2004–05 season, as they took the defending championsDetroit Pistons to seven games in the conference finals. The following season, after an early 11–10 start, Van Gundy resigned and Riley returned to coaching. Though injuries and lack of chemistry hobbled the Heat initially, they still managed to win 52 games that season. After a culmination of harmony and momentum came together just before the playoffs, they started their postseason run by defeating the Bulls in six games, then eliminated theNew Jersey Nets in five games, and then ousted the 64-win 4 all-star Pistons in six games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

TheDallas Mavericks won both games in the regular season series:

• Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton became the 6th and 7th players to play in the NBA Finals for three different teams. O'Neal played in the1995 NBA Finals with theOrlando Magic and four times with theLos Angeles Lakers, while Payton played in the1996 NBA Finals with theSeattle SuperSonics and with O'Neal on the 2004 Lakers team that lost to the Pistons. The other players to play in the Finals for three teams are:Danny Ainge,Sam Perkins,John Salley,Horace Grant,Robert Horry and nowLeBron James with the Cavs, Heat and the Lakers.
• Also, O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning achieved the rare feat of being the former first-round picks from the same year (1992) to win a championship with the same team. O'Neal was the first overall draft pick of theOrlando Magic, while Mourning went second to theCharlotte Hornets. Ironically, the third pick in that draft,Christian Laettner (who was selected by theMinnesota Timberwolves), was a member ofthe previous year's team, his final season before retiring.

The Heat became the second team since 1985 to sweep the middle three games at home, the 2004 Detroit Pistons being the first. In 1985 the NBA switched the Finals to the 2-3-2 format, which was changed back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the2014 NBA Finals.

All times are inEastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

Dallas'Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 30 point and 12 rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised past the Heat to take a 2–0 series lead.

Led byDwyane Wade's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by aGary Payton field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left.Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami.

Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals.Jerry Stackhouse caughtShaquille O'Neal with a flagrant foul that resulted in his suspension for Game 5. Stackhouse was the final NBA player to be suspended in theNBA Finals untilDraymond Green was suspended in the2016 NBA Finals.

Dwyane Wade shot 25 free throws - as many free throws as all the Mavericks combined (a fact that did not sit well with Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson),^[4] leading the Heat to their third straight win over Dallas after being down 0–2 in the series.

With 9.1 seconds left in overtime and the Heat trailing by 1 point, they inbounded the ball to Wade, who caught the ball in the air and then landed in the backcourt. Mavericks' team owner Mark Cuban felt Wade had therefore committed a backcourt violation after receiving the ball.

Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left on the overtime game clock. Wade hit the first free throw, and Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson signaled to his team to call a timeout after Wade's second attempt.Josh Howard then made a timeout gesture with his hands and began to walk off the floor, and the referees called the Mavericks' last remaining timeout, which prevented them from advancing the ball after the second attempt if Wade converted. After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after whichDevin Harris missed a half-court shot as time expired. Wade finished the game with 43 points while setting an NBA Finals record for most made free throws in a game with 21.^[5]Shaquille O'Neal added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Miami converted 32 of its 49 attempts from the free throw line.

Jason Terry led Dallas with 35 points in a losing effort, while Howard added 25. After the game, a frustratedDirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks ownerMark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in fines of $5,000 and $250,000, respectively, for the two men.^[6]

Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to edge Dallas and win their first championship in franchise history as Jason Terry missed a critical 3-pointer that would've sent the game to overtime. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was namedNBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Miami Heat

Dallas Mavericks

ABC had exclusive rights to televise the NBA Finals in the United States.^[7]Play-by-play announcerMike Breen andcolor commentatorHubie Brown called the action, with courtside reporting byLisa Salters andStuart Scott. Radio counterpartESPN Radio broadcast the Finals, withJim Durham andDr. Jack Ramsay calling the action. The featured song, aired throughout theplayoffs, wasTom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down a Dream."

This marked the first of 20 consecutive NBA Finals called by Breen, currently the most among NBA play-by-play voices; the only games he would not call during this period was Games 1 and 2 of the2022 NBA Finals, whenMark Jones took over due to Breen's quarantine as a result ofCOVID-19. However, it was the only NBA Finals to feature Breen with Hubie Brown. The following season, Brown slid down to ESPN's secondary team withMike Tirico (the pair would also call ESPN Radio's NBA Finals broadcasts that season), whileMark Jackson andJeff Van Gundy (the latter after his dismissal asHouston Rockets head coach) joined Breen on the lead team. With the exception of the2012 and2013 Finals (during those seasons, Jackson coached theGolden State Warriors), the Breen–Jackson–Van Gundy team would call every NBA Finals until2023.

Game 2 of the Finals, which took place the same evening as the60th Tony Awards, was the most-watched program of June 11, 2006. ABC won the night with 3.5 rating and 10 share, CBS came in fourth with a 1.5/4 for the Tonys.^[8] On June 20, Game 6 had a 4.4/13 among viewers aged 18–49.^[9] The local ABC affiliates of the participating teams wereWPLG in Miami andWFAA in Dallas.

The finals were shown onSky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Mavericks would post the league's best record with 67 victories in the2006–07 NBA season but were ousted by the eight-seededGolden State Warriors in a six-game first round of the2007 NBA playoffs. The Mavs' playoff defeat marked the first time a top seed was eliminated in a seven-game first round series since it was implemented in2003. Still,Dirk Nowitzki was named theregular season MVP at season's end. After another playoff loss to theNew Orleans Hornets in2008, in which the Mavericks brought backJason Kidd, head coach Avery Johnson was fired and replaced byRick Carlisle. After another two early playoff exits, the Mavericks won 57 games in the 2010–11 season and returned to theFinals.

The Heat would lose convincingly by 42 points to theChicago Bulls in the opening night of the 2006–07 season, the worst opening-day margin of defeat for a defending champion in NBA history. Injuries would keep the team from surpassing or even equaling last season's total, yet they still won theSoutheast Division despite winning only 44 games. The Bulls would oust them in a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs, the first such occurrence since1957. The following year, Miami completed its two-year turnaround from NBA champion to the NBA's worst team by winning only 15 games, equaling the mark set by the team intheir inaugural season, which saw Shaquille O'Neal traded to thePhoenix Suns in mid-season and Dwyane Wade missing 31 games. The Heat gradually climbed back to contention in theErik Spoelstra era, culminating in the much-publicized free-agent acquisitions ofLeBron James andChris Bosh. The Heat won 58 games in the2010–11 season, and along with the Mavericks, returned to the Finals in2011.

The2011 NBA Finals, which was a rematch of 2006, saw the Mavericks win in six games after trailing 2–1 in the Finals. It was the Mavericks' first NBA championship, as well as both teams' second appearances in the Finals. Dirk Nowitzki was namedFinals MVP. Like the Heat in 2006, the Mavericks experienced a post-championship letdown, getting swept by theOklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the2012 NBA playoffs, and then missed the postseason entirely in2013.

As of 2024^[update], this wasMiami's fifth championship out of a total of eight among theBig Four sports leagues; theMLB'sNational League Florida (nowMiami) Marlins won theWorld Series in1997 and2003 while theNFL'sMiami Dolphins won theSuper Bowl in1973 and1974, and theNHL'sFlorida Panthers later joined this company by winning theStanley Cup in2024 and 2025. TheMiami Heat would go on to win a second championship in2012 against the Thunder in 5 games and a third championship in2013 against theSan Antonio Spurs in 7 games before falling in2014 against the same Spurs team in 5 games. More recently, the Heat lost the2020 NBA Finals and the2023 NBA Finals to theLos Angeles Lakers andDenver Nuggets, respectively. The Mavericks lost to theBoston Celtics in the2024 NBA Finals; coincidentally, the head coachJason Kidd won a championship in 2011 with the team.

This was the first meeting between teams from Dallas and Miami for amajor professional sports championship sinceSuper Bowl VI in 1972, where theDallas Cowboys defeated the Dolphins to claim their first of five Super Bowls. As of 2025, neither the city'sNHL teams, theStars andPanthers, nor their MLB counterparts, theRangers and Marlins, have met in the postseason.

• "Official website".NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. RetrievedDecember 9, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

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