The 2022–23 Miami Heat season was the 35th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 7, the Heat clinched the title in the Southeast Division with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat regressed from their 53–29 record from the prior season, when they clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite finishing the regular season seventh, the team repeated as Southeast Division champions (they were only team in the division with a winning record). Miami clinched the eighth seed in the playoffs following a loss to the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks and a win over the 10th-seeded Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.
On January 10, 2023, the team set an NBA record by shooting 40–40 on their free throws.[1]
In the first round, the Heat eliminated the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games, becoming just the sixth eighth-seeded team to defeat a first seed in NBA history in what is regarded by some to be one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.[2] They also become the first play-in team in NBA history to win a playoff series.[3]
With a Game 6 win over the New York Knicks, the Heat became only the second eighth-seeded team to make it to the Conference Finals since the eighth-seed's implementation in 1984, the first being the 1998–99 New York Knicks, who coincidentally won over the Miami Heat.[4][5] They also became the first play-in team to make the Conference Finals.[6] They also qualified for back–to–back Conference Finals appearances for the first time since 2013 and 2014.
The Heat avoided blowing a 3–0 lead to the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals with a 103–84 Game 7 win on May 29, 2023, becoming the first eighth-seeded NBA team to reach the NBA Finals since the 1999 New York Knicks. They would later break that Knicks team's record for wins in a postseason by an 8-seed by notching their 13th victory of the 2023 playoffs when they won Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. The defeat of Boston earned Miami their seventh overall Eastern Conference championship, their sixth trip to the NBA Finals in the last thirteen seasons, and their second Finals appearance since 2020. The Heat's season ended in a Finals loss to a former ABA team that won its first NBA championship (echoing a similar fate suffered by the 1999 Knicks, when the San Antonio Spurs began their run of five championships through the next 15 years). One night later, the Florida Panthers lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Vegas Golden Knights; that series also ended in five games, and in the winner's home arena, giving the South Florida region the rare distinction of having two different teams lose the finals of their respective sport on consecutive days.
Off the court, the Heat gained notoriety after the naming rights sponsor of its arena filed for bankruptcy in November. This led to the venue being renamed twice during the season, first as the Miami-Dade Arena before the naming rights were sold to Miami-based software company Kaseya, resulting in the arena being renamed as the Kaseya Center.
After the season ended Udonis Haslem retired from the NBA after playing for 20 seasons with the Heat.[7]
The Heat own their first round pick.[8] They initially had a second-round pick which was forfeited due to tampering violations with respect to Kyle Lowry and free agency in 2021.[9]