Micky Arison

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WNBA ANNOUNCES CLOSE OF CAPITAL RAISE TO FUEL INVESTMENT IN LONG-TERM TRANSFORMATION OF LEAGUE 

– Business, Sports and Entertainment Leaders Michael and Susan Dell, Karen Finerman, Linda Henry, Dee Haslam and Whitney Johnson, Secretary Condoleezza Riceto be Among Equity Partners – 

– WNBA Changemaker NIKE, Inc. Strengthens Support by Investing in League – – League’s First-Ever Capital Raise to Build on Momentum Around WNBA and 

Women’s Sports and Enable Values-Driven Investors to Support Women Athletes – 

– Micky and Nick Arison, Bill Cameron, Laurene Powell Jobs, Ginny Gilder, Mark Walter and Eric Holoman, Ted Leonsis, Simon Family, Joe and Clara Tsai, among WNBA and NBA Owners to Reaffirm Their Commitment to League as Part of Investor Group – 

On February 3, 2022 the WNBA announced today the largest-ever capital raise for a women’s sports property, featuring new investors and existing WNBA and NBA owners. This groundbreaking transaction is part of a multi-faceted financial growth strategy designed to generate new revenue through increased investment in priority areas as part of the league’s long- term business transformation. 

Proceeds from this transaction are expected to be used for brand elevation and marketing; globalization of the WNBA; innovation, digital, and growth of consumer touchpoints; and human capital and operational optimization as part of an overall effort to address some of the league’s obstacles to growth and generating new revenue. 

“We are incredibly fortunate to be able to capitalize on the current momentum around women’s sports and are grateful to the investors who have chosen to support the WNBA in an unprecedented way and to our team governors who continue to invest in the players and teams,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Our strategy is to deploy this capital to continue to drive the league’s brand as a bold, progressive entertainment and media property that embodies diversity, promotes equity, advocates for social justice, and stands for the power of women. Having just completed our historic 25th season, with this access to additional capital, we are setting the WNBA up for a successful future and it represents a sign and signal of the future direction of women’s sports as a whole.” 

As part of its ongoing commitment to empowering women athletes and women’s sports, NIKE, Inc., one of the league’s current premier partners and inaugural WNBA Changemaker, has made a significant equity investment in the WNBA. Nike’s investment further deepens the company’s support for women’s basketball and enables the WNBA to elevate the marketing and storytelling of WNBA athletes. 

“Women’s sport is one of the best investments, with great potential to impact and grow the next era of basketball,” said Sonja Henning, VP, North America League Partnerships, NIKE, Inc. “Nike has always been more than a sponsor with the WNBA – we’re a strategic partner. And we’re proud to be part of a movement to redefine the future of sport for a new generation – for WNBA players, fans and girls.” 

The initial investors are: Micky and Nick Arison, Carnival Corporation and Miami HEAT; Bill Cameron, CEO and President, American Fidelity, Dallas Wings; Swin Cash, WNBA legend and current New Orleans Pelicans Vice-President of Basketball Operations and Team Development; Baron Davis, NBA legend; Michael and Susan Dell, Dell Technologies and minority investors, San Antonio Spurs; Karen Finerman, CEO and Co-Founder, Metropolitan Capital Advisors; Pau Gasol, NBA legend and Member of the IOC Athletes' Commission; Ginny Gilder, Seattle Storm; Dee Haslam and Whitney Johnson, Haslam Sports Group, Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew; Linda Henry, Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club; Brad Hilsabeck, former CEO, Grantham, Mayo Van Otterloo &amp; Co. and minority investor, Dallas Wings; Eric Holoman, President and CEO, EquiTrust Life Insurance, Los Angeles Sparks; Mark Walter, CEO, Guggenheim Partners, Los Angeles Sparks; Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective; Ted Leonsis, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Monumental Sports &amp; Entertainment, Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards; James and Heather Murren, former Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International; NIKE, Inc; Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University and 66th US Secretary of State; Angela Ruggiero, CEO and Co-Founder, Sports Innovation Lab; Herb and Steve Simon, Fever Basketball, LLC; and Joe and Clara Tsai, New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets. 

“Susan and I are excited about the growth opportunity in women’s sports and specifically the WNBA,” said Michael Dell, CEO, Dell Technologies and minority investor, San Antonio Spurs. “We also are proud to support a league that is committed to empowerment, and we look forward to supporting Cathy and all the accomplished and diverse women of the WNBA to make a positive impact in the world.” 

The 2021 season marked the WNBA’s 25th anniversary and featured new partnerships with Google, the latest WNBA Changemaker, as well as Amazon Prime Video, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Coinbase. The companies joined a growing lineup of partners led by WNBA Changemakers AT&amp;T, Deloitte and NIKE, Inc. The league also introduced an innovative in- season competition – the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup – which will continue with the upcoming 2022 season. 

Both the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors approved the transaction. Allen &amp; Company 

LLC served as the financial advisor for the transaction. 

Having concluded its historic 25th season in 2021, the WNBA is a bold, progressive basketball league that stands for the power of women. Featuring 12 teams, the W is a unique sports property that combines competition and entertainment with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility. Through its world-class athletes, the in-game fan experience, TV and digital broadcasts, digital and social content and community outreach programs, the league celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it. 

In 2020, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) signed a groundbreaking eight-year CBA that charts a new course for women’s basketball – and women’s sports overall – with a focus on increased player compensation, improvements to the player experience, expanded career development opportunities and resources specifically tailored to the female professional athlete. Key elements of the agreement are supported through the league’s new platform, WNBA Changemakers, with AT&amp;T, the WNBA’s Marquee Partner and inaugural Changemaker, as well as fellow inaugural Changemakers Deloitte and NIKE, Inc, and the recent addition of Google. During the 2020 season, the WNBA and WNBPA launched the WNBA Justice Movement forming the Social Justice Council with the mission of being a driving force of necessary change and continuing conversations about race and voting rights, among other important societal issues. 

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WNBA raises $75 million from Investors, Including Micky and Nick Arison

Immediate $2.5 million donation from Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine's Family Foundation will be made to Direct Relief, UNICEF and United Way of Miami-Dade County to support most urgent hurricane relief efforts

Carnival Foundation and Miami HEAT Charitable Fund will team up to raise $5 million in relief funds; Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation to match that commitment up to a total of $5 million

Carnival Cruise Line is deploying 11 ships to deliver emergency supplies to affected ports in Florida and throughout the Caribbean

MIAMI (Sept. 14, 2017) – Carnival Corporation &amp; plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation are pledging up to $10 million in funding and in-kind support for relief and rebuilding efforts in Florida and throughout the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma.

The Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation will make an immediate donation of $2.5 million to Direct Relief, UNICEF and the United Way of Miami-Dade County to support the most timely and urgent relief needs in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Carnival Foundation -- the philanthropic arm of Carnival Corporation -- and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund are each pledging to raise a combined $5 million in funding for relief and recovery efforts. Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine will match that commitment up to a total of $5 million from the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, including the organization’s initial donation aimed at supporting the most immediate needs in Florida and the Caribbean.

“We are committed to supporting relief efforts where Hurricane Irma left an impact in Florida and the Caribbean, starting with immediate humanitarian needs and recovery efforts that will have a meaningful impact,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “Hurricane Irma’s impact strikes close to home both in our home state of Florida and across the Caribbean, where we and our brands have made many friends and partners over many years. Our prayers and thoughts go out to all of those who have been impacted. It is inspiring to see so many individuals and organizations already pitching in to support the relief work, and we will continue to look for ways to provide support. Our friends and partners from across Florida and the Caribbean have always displayed remarkable resilience, strength and spirit when facing difficult circumstances. They have come back strong in the past, and we will be standing with them as they work to come back strong once again.” 

Donald added: “We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Micky and Madeleine Arison for their generosity, and also express our gratitude to the Miami HEAT organization for partnering with us to support recovery efforts.”

“Hurricane Irma has devastated many families and cities that mean so much to us,” said Pat Riley, President of the Miami HEAT. “As a long-time resident of South Florida, I have witnessed the resiliency of our communities; watching neighbors come together to overcome adversity. The South Florida community has supported our organization throughout the years, so it is only fitting that we are there to support and help uplift this community in its time of need.”

As part of the company’s Hurricane Irma relief fundraising efforts, Carnival Corporation’s Carnival Cruise Line is embarking on humanitarian efforts to deliver critical supplies to the most deeply affected areas of Florida and the island nations in the Caribbean that were impacted. The brand is deploying 11 ships to provide affected ports in the region with crucial supplies and the most immediate necessities, including food, water, clothing, diapers, medical supplies and generators, among others.

Scheduled as part of ongoing cruise itineraries, the humanitarian aid efforts will benefit impacted destinations across the region, including Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua-Barbuda and affected Bahamian islands. Carnival Corporation remains in touch with leaders throughout the Caribbean to be able to support each country’s quickly evolving recovery needs. The company also initiated a multi-faceted plan to begin providing relief to areas of the U.S. mainland, including Florida and the Florida Keys, which will begin as soon as all impacted areas are accessible. 

Carnival Corporation’s cruise brands are contributing additional global fundraising efforts. Carnival Cruise Line set up a relief program enabling guests to donate directly to Hurricane Irma recovery efforts through its donation page available at Carnival Hurricane Relief. Princess Cruises’ Princess Foundation has also pledged to match donations made through its donation page, which will be available soon through the brand’s website. Additionally, P&amp;O Cruises UK is setting up a campaign to support hurricane relief through donations directly to UNICEF.

Carnival Corporation and its full portfolio of global brands are also encouraging employees to support the recovery efforts in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean, while also matching some individual donations.

The Hurricane Irma support and relief efforts follow the recent announcement that Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation provided a minimum of $2 million for Hurricane Harvey recovery across the Gulf Coast region, including some of the hardest hit areas of Texas. Support following Hurricane Harvey has been committed to Direct Relief, Houston Food Bank, Operation Homefront, Save the Children and the United Way of Greater Houston.

About The Miami HEAT Charitable FundThe Miami HEAT Charitable Fund was established in 1997 and is comprised of the Miami HEAT players, coaches, wives and staff.  Establishing its presence in the South Florida community, the HEAT “family” has been able to generate critical dollars through unique fundraising programs for the betterment of at risk families. The primary beneficiaries from this event are Jackson Memorial Foundation’s Guardian Angels, which supports the Holtz Center for seriously ill children, SafeSpace, a domestic violence shelter for women and their children, and Home Strong, which provides aid, supports, and honors members of the U.S. military. More information on the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund is available online at HEAT.com.

Carnival Corporation &amp; plc Carnival Corporation &amp; plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10 dynamic brands that include nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&amp;O Cruises (Australia) and P&amp;O Cruises (UK), as well as Fathom, the corporation's immersion and enrichment experience brand.

Together, these brands operate 103 ships with 231,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 17 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and 2022. Carnival Corporation &amp; plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation &amp; plc is the only dual listed company in the world to be included in both the S&amp;P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival Corporation as being among the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies" in both the design and travel categories. Fast Company specifically recognized Carnival Corporation for its work in developing Ocean Medallion™, a high-tech wearable device that enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated level of customized service.

Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.

carnival-corporation-miami-heat-charitable-fund-and-micky-and-madeleine-arison-family-foundation-pledge-up-to-10-million-for-hurricane-irma-relief

Carnival Corporation, Miami HEAT Charitable Fund and Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation Pledge up to $10 Million for Hurricane Irma Relief

MIAMI, August 11 – The Miami HEAT announced its 2016-17 regular season schedule today. The 82-game schedule consists of 41 home dates, all at AmericanAirlines Arena, and 41 road contests, and runs from October 26, 2016 through April 12, 2017. FOX Sports Sun, the exclusive regional television partner of the Miami HEAT, will air all games available for local broadcast which will amount to 80 games in total. The HEAT will make five national television appearances, including two exclusive broadcasts on TNT. In addition, ESPN is scheduled to broadcast three HEAT games and NBA TV has scheduled coverage on eight games. The Miami HEAT Radio Network, led by its flagship station 790 The Ticket  (AM 790/FM 104.3 HD-2), will carry all of the team’s games in English, while Univision Radio’s Radio Mambi (710 AM) or Mix 98.3 FM (regular season conflict games) will broadcast each regular season game in Spanish. Additional broadcast schedule information, including preseason coverage, will be available at a later date.

Miami kicks off its 29th season on the road, facing the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, October 26 (7PM). The HEAT will kick off its home slate on Friday, October 28, when they host the Charlotte Hornets at (8PM). The HEAT begins the season with three of its first four games at home. Also of note this season, all Friday and several Saturday home games will begin at 8PM; allowing ticket holders additional time to arrive at the Arena and not miss any game action.

The schedule features several exciting match-ups, including two visits by the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers on March 4 (8PM) and April 10 (7:30PM), while Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls will appear in Miami only once this season, on November 10 (8PM). The HEAT host the Western Conference Champion Golden State Warriors on January 23 (7:30PM), and will also play on New Year’s Day for the seventh time in team history, when they host the Detroit Pistons at 6PM.

This year’s schedule features 37 of the 82 games played on weekends (Friday through Sunday). Of those weekend games, 17 will be played in Miami (four on Friday, eight on Saturday and five on Sunday). The HEAT’s longest homestand will be a six-game stretch from December 12-22. Miami’s longest stretch of road games is a six-game trip, from January 3-13. Additionally, the HEAT will play 15 sets of back-to-back games, two fewer than last season. The months in which Miami plays the highest number of games are December and March, when the HEAT hits the hardwood 16 times. March will also be the month in which the HEAT plays its most home contests, with 10 of its 16 games in AmericanAirlines Arena. The most road games Miami will play in a month is eight, which they do in November, December and January.

A limited number of Miami HEAT Season Tickets are available for sale for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Interested HEAT fans are encouraged to visit HEATSeasonTickets.com—a special website containing video elements, an interactive 3-D seating chart and the ability to view and purchase seats in real time. Starting tonight, HEAT fans can purchase tickets from HEAT Season Ticket Members via the NBA Resale Marketplace by logging on to HEAT.com. Group Tickets are also currently on sale. Partial ticket plans will go on sale Friday, August 19th. And on Friday, September 16th, the general public can purchase single game tickets by logging on to HEAT.com beginning at 10AM. For more specific information on these numerous ticket products, fans can contact the HEAT by visiting HEAT.com, by sending an email to seasons@heat.com or by calling 786-777-HOOP.

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HEAT Announce 2016-17 Regular Season Schedule

miajbeguiristain

While the mantra was simple, it would go on to characterize the 2005-06 NBA Champion Miami HEAT.

It was 10 years ago to the day that Miami climbed the top of the mountain for the first time, largely due to the fantastic performance of Dwyane Wade. The shooting guard averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.67 steals and 1.00 blocks per contest in the 2006 NBA Finals.

With Pat Riley at the helm and Wade leading the charge, the HEAT had one of the more memorable comebacks in NBA Finals history. With the 10-year anniversary upon us, Coach Riley sat down to discuss the 2005-06 Miami HEAT with HEAT.com.

One regular season game that really stands out was against the Pistons on February 12 when Wade hit a game-winning jumper. From there, you went on to win 10-straight and 15-of-16. After the All-Star Break, the team really started to pick up some steam. Obviously, you want to play your best heading into the playoffs, but what else would you point to for the team’s improved play?

“Well, I think basically there was a change somewhere in December, around the first week of December, when Stan [Van Gundy] stepped down and resigned. I think the team was 11-10 at that time and when I took over, we had a four-game road trip and we won our first game in Chicago. Then we went to Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Cleveland.

I remember in Philadelphia, it was a rainy, cold, bad day. So we went up there, and a practice was supposed to be scheduled. All the players got out of bed, they were grumpy and they didn’t want to go out and go to practice at 11 o’clock in the morning, so I had set up a private screening of the movie called “Glory Road”, which was the game about Texas Western and Kentucky back in 1966. As the bus was going around the block two or three times, we finally pulled up to the movie theater, and all the players were going, ‘What are we doing?’

We...watched the movie and it was a pretty moving story for a lot of the players who weren’t aware of that time. It sort of broke the ice of, ‘Ok, Pat Riley is now our head coach,’ and they think that this is going to be what’s going to happen every day. No, it’s not [laughs]. It was a nice sort of get-together. Our theme song coming out of that movie was “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, which was a big part of that song that Alicia Keys actually sang…in the movie.

There was a turning point in Dallas when we went [there] midseason and lost by 36 points in a nationally televised game. It was embarrassing and everybody was very upset. I can remember after the game...in the locker room and I was just pacing back and forth looking at the players and saying, ‘What are we going to do?’ Gary Payton, venerable, old school guard, no-nonsense guy even with the head coach, he’s in the back of the locker room and I remember his voice coming out. [He said] something like, ‘Well, Pat, what are we going to do? What are we going to do about this?’ I looked at him and I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘No, I want you to tell me.’ I said, ‘Well, Gary, I’ll give you one piece of advice: if you follow me and listen to me and just do what I tell you to do and then we can collaborate on what we have to do, then we can win. If you’re willing to do that from this day forward, I think we can be a very successful team.’ And Gary said, ‘I gotcha, coach.’

From that point on, we started to win, and it really was a team that I related extremely well with. A team that I felt could win a championship. There was no guarantee, but we finished [41-20] under me. We had a good finish, we felt good about ourselves and I think going into the playoffs we were ready."

How unique was it to have two Hall-of-Fame Centers in Shaq and Zo on the same team?

“First of all, it was incredible to get both of them together. When you stop and think about having Shaquille O’Neal, probably next to Wilt Chamberlain, the most dominant big man in the history of the game, not just because he was big but [also] just because he was so skilled, talented, quick and athletic and all of these things. Then, to be able to get his nemesis for years, Alonzo Mourning, a ferocious, fierce competitor that I had coached for seven or eight years. I said, ‘Wow.’

I remember having lunch with Zo one day when he came back from Toronto, and I asked him if he wanted to come back. He was going to have to make a great sacrifice and take the minimum because we didn’t have any room or exceptions. He said to me, ‘You mean to tell me I’m going to play with Shaq? You know how Shaq and I are, man, we’re like oil and water.’ I said, ‘Well, just think about how dominant you’re going to be. You’re going to have to come off the bench. You’re going to have to play 15-20 minutes a night.’

I [also] remember when Zo came back the year before that. He was introduced and people were chanting, ‘We want Zo! We want Zo!’ and Shaq was next to him saying, ‘We want Zo!’ The two of them forgot their warrior battles from the past and their dislike for one another, and that was born out of their competitiveness. But both of them at that time really relished the fact that, ‘Hey, we’re together, man. We got this covered. We got the paint covered. We got the boards covered. We’re going to be blocking shots. We’re going to be taking hard fouls.’

So, we had one of the best center tandems around. To be able to have Zo coming off the bench and playing limited minutes, but getting starter’s statistics, really helped us.”

What was Spo’s specific role at that time in terms of preparing the team?

“He was no longer an advance scout even though he was doing the video work too. He was on the bench at that time, so he was playing a big part in really helping me prepare. I learned so much about him and how much he learned about the game by the kind of information he would give me. It was information that was out of the box. It wasn’t just normal stuff.

I used to have every coach break down the film, write down all their notes and then slide it under the door the next morning on blue card stock. Then I could decipher everybody’s notes and take out what I needed, not use what I didn’t.

But he would deliver things to me that every time it was three or four different things that nobody else said, and it really got my mind to think about how we were really going to play these guys. And so, he was really advanced in his thought process and a little bit out there. He had spent so much time scouting, watching games, 10 years already with me, with Stan, back with me. [He also went] to all these camps, clinics and all these other things that he had done to prepare himself as a coach that he started to become a different kind of thinker and I appreciated that kind of stuff.”

What was your message to the team after going down 0-2 to Dallas in the Finals?

“There wasn’t any real message at that time. When you’re playing for a World Championship with a lot of veterans and Shaq..., [the message] was very simple. I think the message that we had created throughout all of the playoffs you hear now presently with Golden State’s “Strength in Numbers.” I sort of coined a phrase called “15 Strong” and we started to use that at the end of the season. Then by the time I was using it on a regular basis, players started to use it. “15 Strong”. It’s not one guy. It’s one through 15.

Then we created a big metal pit in the middle of the locker room in which I started to get 20,000 cards printed up with “15 Strong” on it. I put player’s pictures on it. Every night, one of the players would come into my office and in a wheelbarrow would be 20,000 cards. That player then would wheel that into the locker room and dump it into the pit [so it] got bigger and bigger. Then one night after a game in the playoffs, I remember throwing some of my personal pictures in there of my family members. I took some rosary beads that I had that my mother had given me [and] put them in there. So, players started to drop in personal things: items, jewelry, pictures, necklaces, and so it became a very personal thing. This was for real. We made an investment, not in the pit, but we made an investment in 15 Strong.

The media never knew what was in there. They always would ask, ‘What’s in the pit?’ and nobody would ever say what was in the pit. It was our own little personal thing. That sort of became what the theme was.

When we came home [after Game 2], everything changed. I think everything changed in the middle of the fourth quarter…ready to go down 0-3. I remember calling a timeout with just over six minutes to go in the game and writing on my pad, ‘Our season is on the line.’ That was it. I just left it there and the players were looking at it, read it and Dwyane Wade stood up and he cursed and he said, ‘I ain’t going out like this.’ And he just walked out on the court with this strength.”

(Wade went on to score 12 of Miami’s last 22 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.)

“We ended up beating them at the wire with a Gary Payton jumper just to get us off the schneid. With about nine seconds to go, Dwyane didn’t make the play, Shaq didn’t make the play. It was 15 Strong, man. So the ball ended up in Jason Williams’ hands. He put his head down, dribbled into the middle of the lane, penetrated as deep as he could and kicked it to Gary Payton with about nine seconds to go and Gary just raised. He raised and made a jumper; the score was tied at the time. Then at the other end of the court, Dirk Nowitzki, God bless him, he missed a free throw, and after a Wade free throw, we ended up winning the game by [two]. That got us off the schneid and got us rolling into Game 4.”

In that series against Dallas in Game 6, Zo had five blocks, including the one where he went crazy on the deck. Can you talk about what he brought to that game?

“Well even before we get to Game 6… at 2-2, Game 5 here was crucial for us. That game, we were down 11 points in the last minute of the second quarter, and we worked our way back into the game. That’s the game that Dwyane really came through big time.

But again, Gary Payton. We were staggering around and he made...a left hand layup that put us up one with 29.8 seconds left.

Dwyane, with us being down one or two, we got the ball inbounds to him in the backcourt. He was alone in the backcourt. I’ll never forget this. It was one of the greatest plays that I’ve ever seen a player make. We have to win, we’re down, there’s about three or four seconds left to go on the clock, he put his head down and he beat five players. Dallas just ran away from everybody else, thinking, ‘we’re going to stop Dwyane Wade.’ I remember at half court he split a double-team, then he dribbled to his left and there come another two players and somehow he got through there. Now, he’s heading downhill, heading to the basket and Dirk Nowitzki is coming to close out on him. I remember he goes to the basket and Dirk hits him on the hand.

I think with like a second, or 0.4 seconds to go, he makes two free throws and we get the win. That got us to Game 6. And so after that game that night, I remember talking to the players I said, ‘Well, I’ve been here before when I was coaching the Knicks. We went down to Houston ahead 3-2 and needing just one game. Look, when you’ve got a chance to win a championship, you’ve got to win it. Anybody in this room saying we got two shots to win this thing, we’re going to lose. I’m just telling you right now. If you don’t think Game 6 is Game 7 and it’s the last game of the year, then don’t come, don’t pack your bags, don’t go to Dallas, because I’m taking one shirt, one suit and one tie. That’s it. We’re going to play Game 6, we’re going to win, we’re going to celebrate and we’re going to come home.’ And that sort of became the theme for the trip and we went down to Dallas and played one of the best games that this franchise has ever played in a big game situation.

I’ll never forget the last play of the game. We were ahead by three. They’re inbounding, and we steal the ball. Dwyane gets the ball and he gets fouled with about nine seconds to go in the game. They call a timeout, set up a play. We’re in our huddle over there, we’re sitting down, we’re three points ahead and nine seconds away from our first World Championship. Man, I tell you, I’ve been here – the only thing that can happen is a nightmare – I just, look, we shouldn’t lose this game. We’ve got our best free-throw shooter ready to take two shots and put us ahead by four or five [to] make it a two-possession game. So, he’s sitting there really calm, and I remember once we break the huddle, he goes and he’s walking down to the other end to shoot the free throws. He puts his arm around me, and I know, he put his arm around me like, ‘Coach, this game’s over.’ I looked at him and I said, ‘Make the freakin’ free throws.’ That’s all I said to him. ‘This game is a long way from being over with.’

So, he goes down to the free-throw line, lo and behold, he misses both free throws, and here we go. Jason Terry is coming up the court with Gary Payton on him, and he can tie the score with a three. So, I remember him coming off of a pick-and-roll with Nowitzki on the side, and Udonis is what we call “slip-fronting” Nowitzki because he didn’t want him to get it. But Terry came off so close to him that Payton got caught trailing and he actually grabbed his jersey, and you can see it on the film. Terry got to the open pocket, raised, it was a pretty wide-open good look, he just missed it. I was just glad that they didn’t call a foul on Gary and [Terry] is making three free throws I would think. When the ball hit the rim, hit the backboard, it went way in the air, Dwyane rebounded the ball and the next thing he did was just throw it up in the air.

I remember Nick Arison telling me at the time when Dwyane got the rebound and threw it in the air, Micky looked at Nick and said ‘What happened??’ And he said, ‘We just won a championship! We just won a championship!’

What a wonderful moment and a breakthrough moment for the HEAT and for that team to be able to win a championship. It was just an incredible accomplishment. It’s one of my favorite[s]. I’ve been a part of nine championship teams and I wear that ring, 2006, because of what we had a chance to accomplish here in Miami for the first time. Then after that it was all “15 Strong.”

When we finally got back to the locker room after the presentation out on the court and champagne was being spewed all over the place, everybody got down into the pit. At halftime, [Jay Sabol] went in there and took everybody’s personal items out of there. So, the rings, the rosary beads, the necklaces, the pictures, he took everything out of there and put it in a separate bag and the players went down there and started throwing these cards in the air. “15 Strong” Championship Cards in the air and then they were stuck all over the walls. When they took a picture of the locker room after we left, we left Dallas a reminder that we were here.

Then we went home, and there were 250,000 people ready there to greet us the next day on Biscayne Blvd. or two days later."

You’ve mentioned Gary a lot and obviously Zo. How happy were you for those guys that had such great careers to finally reach the top of the mountain and win that ring?

“I’ve always been somewhat veteran friendly to guys that may be at the end of their careers but still had a lot left, but you have to put them in the right situation where they know they have a chance to win and win big. So, he had a great year for us, but on the biggest stage when most young players might be a little bit afraid, there was no fear in him. When he hit that jumper to win the game for us in Game 3, he just raised in the air. It was the only shot he took all game, nothing but net. Then, when we needed another bucket in Game 5, he makes a drive, and he makes the typical Gary Payton left-hand-high-off-the-board bank. When we had to have the stop of all stops in Game 6, I put him on Jason Terry and even though Terry got a decent look at it, Payton was head on the ball, full court pressure the whole time. [He] got him thinking about getting him off balance enough that maybe he didn’t get as good a look as we think he got.

I was happy for Gary, obviously I was happy for Zo and for all the players and even Shaq because Shaq came here. He selected us, he wanted to get traded to Miami and come and play for Micky, play for myself and play for the HEAT.

Every single one of those players that was part of that championship team that had never won championships before, they’ll never forget it. It was an incredible ride, it was an incredible experience, not only for myself, but for Zo especially, who’s the face of this franchise along with Dwyane. But also for Shaq and for all the veterans who said, ‘Yeah, I’m coming.’ For Posey and Jason Williams and everybody.

But probably more than any one player, is that Dwyane Wade, and this can happen to every player at some time. How long it happens and how long you stay up there is the mark of true greatness. During those two months of the playoffs, Dwyane Wade was the best player on the planet.

Everybody has their opportunity to be the best player in the world, but you have to be the best player in the world at a time when the stakes are the highest, and the stakes are pretty high when you’re playing for a World Championship. So, not only was he the best player in the world, but I used to always text him at the time. All I said was BIW, BIW, capital letters, BIW, and he got it. And I still call him BIW, I do. Best in the World, and he had some games this year where he was the Best in the World and I think he’s been one of the best players in the world for the last 10 years.”

That championship parade in 2006, a lot of people look back on it and remember you dancing on stage and all the fun you guys had. Did you have a moment where you just reflected and said to yourself, ‘This was the vision I had when I came here’?

“Not that way. I think one of the tenets that coaches and players should take in their sport is that when you’re successful, when you become good and you get a lot of recognition and notoriety, is that you don’t ever tell people how you did it to make yourself look good. You don’t ever tell people how you’re going to do it because there’s a lot of arrogance involved in that. You just sort of take it humbly and feel very fortunate. Where I soaked it in the most at that time was with my family: with Chris, James and Elisabeth. Because James and Elisabeth, they only heard about the championships that I won, you know? They weren’t even in the world at the time.

To be able to have them in Dallas, sharing this moment. I remember in 1994 when we lost the championship when I was coaching the Knicks in Houston. My son James was 10 and he had come to that seventh game. After that seventh game, he hated basketball because he saw the misery, the pain on our faces, the tears and the disappointment. Even in later years he’d say, ‘Dad, how can you put yourself through this? There’s so much pain! I don’t want anything to do with that kind of a job.’

But he and my daughter were very bubbly that night [in 2006], pouring champagne on my head and spewing it all over the place. To be able to sit in my office just with Chris and I for some minutes, it’s special.

Besides dealing with your family and stuff like that, I think probably the one thing that made me feel the most pride is remembering when I was hired by Micky back in 1996 and having the press conference on the ship “The Imagination.” And not promising, but I could see one day the vision of a parade down Biscayne Blvd, and then having Mike Inglis and Eric Reid talk about ‘And there’ll be a parade down Biscayne Blvd!’

I just remember how proud I was to work for Mr. Arison, for Micky, and to have him share and see exactly what it was like to win and to understand that it takes a lot. To be able to have Micky, Madeleine, Nick, Kelly and all of our families that have gone through the tenures together and have some pretty disappointing losses back against the Knicks in the late ‘90’s to finally get to this moment. It just made me very proud to be part of this franchise.”

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Pat Riley Discusses the 2005-06 HEAT

nbaplatformservices

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Inside the HEAT: NEAT Nation (Part 2)

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HEAT Nation: Micky Arison (Part 2)

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HEAT Nation: Micky Arison (Part 1)

Irene Herrera

Aunque lo que el Miami HEAT ha logrado en los últimos cuatro años ha sido histórico, hay una imagen mucho más clara que define el éxito que hemos disfrutado como franquicia. Desde que tomé control del equipo en 1995 y traje a Pat Riley para dirigir Operaciones de Baloncesto, el HEAT ha llegado a los Playoffs en 16 de esas 19 temporadas, con cinco títulos de la Conferencia del Este y tres Campeonatos de la NBA coronando esas apariciones en los Playoffs. El HEAT es uno de sólo siete equipos en ganar un campeonato durante ese lapso de tiempo, y de esos siete equipos, somos uno de sólo cuatro en ganar múltiples campeonatos. Para tener una idea más exacta de nuestro récord de excelencia, consideren que de las seis franquicias establecidas alrededor del tiempo en que el HEAT se sumó a la NBA, sólo un otro equipo ha llegado a las Finales de la NBA, y sólo el HEAT ha ganado un título de la NBA.

Desde traspasos espectaculares como el de Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway y Shaquille O’Neal y la selección de Dwyane Wade en el draft, todos futuros miembros del Salón de la Fama, a lograr las adquisiciones más significativas en la historia de la liga cuando conseguimos a Chris Bosh, LeBron James y a Dwyane Wade, su Miami HEAT se ha establecido como una franquicia élite de la NBA y ha mantenido un nivel constante de excelencia en el terreno, lo que define nuestro legado como una organización campeona. El hecho de que hemos hecho todo esto antes de celebrar nuestro 30mo. aniversario subraya que somos la franquicia más joven de la NBA en lograr este tipo de éxito y una entre sólo 15 franquicias de la NBA en ganar un campeonato de la NBA en los 68 años de historia de la liga. Y aunque esos logros hablan por sí solos, estoy aquí para decirles algo más: no hemos terminado; ni estamos cerca.

A Pat Riley le encanta decir que con lo que único que se puede contar en la vida es el cambio y aquellos que lo aceptan son los mejores preparados para salir exitosos. Por lo tanto, aunque los nombres en la parte de atrás de las camisetas pueden cambiar de cuando en cuando, la constante presencia del nombre “Miami” o “HEAT” en el frente, garantizan que nuestro objetivo continúa siendo el mismo: poner en la cancha un equipo competitivo capaz de luchar por el premio mayor. Como fanático del HEAT, esto es lo que ustedes esperan de nosotros. Estamos enfocados como un láser en el presente y la tarea de defender nuestro campeonato de la Conferencia del Este, en un momento en que el Este es descrito como “territorio abierto”, a la vez que nos posicionamos para tener la mayor flexibilidad y poder de maniobra en el futuro.

El núcleo que regresa, encabezado por los tres veces campeones de la NBA Dwyane Wade y Udonis Haslem, dos veces campeón y nueve veces miembro del Todos Estrellas de la NBA Chris Bosh, dos veces campeón Mario Chalmers y Norris Cole y el campeón de la NBA y favorito de los fanáticos Chris “Birdman/El Pájaro” Andersen, ha mostrado otra vez su compromiso de ganar haciendo lo que sea necesario para el beneficio del equipo. Además, les damos la bienvenida a las estrellas de la NBA Luol Deng y Danny Granger, el versátil veterano y hombre fuerte Josh McRoberts, el dos veces campeón de la NCAA Shabazz Napier y excitantes jóvenes talentos como James Ennis y Justin Hamilton, quienes regresan de una impresionante actuación en las Ligas de Verano de Orlando y Las Vegas. Nuestra rotación está compuesta de jugadores versátiles y otros que salen a probar algo al resto de la liga.

Como Dwyane dijo cuando anunció su retorno al HEAT, “Yo soy un #HEATLifer” (Soy del HEAT de por Vida.) Así es como quiero que se sientan sobre su rol como fanáticos del HEAT –ustedes son del HEAT de por Vida. #HEATLifer- “dándolo todo” con nosotros en lo que seguramente va a ser una excitante temporada 2014-15 y un futuro muy brillante en el que buscaremos añadir logros a nuestros tres campeonatos de la NBA.