H. Res. 887

In the House of Representatives, U.S., 

June 26, 2006.

Whereas American Airlines Arena, located in the City of 

Miami, Florida, is the home court for the Miami Heat; 

Whereas on June 20, 2006, the Miami Heat defeated the 

Dallas Mavericks, the Western Conference Champions, in 

6 games to win the 2006 National Basketball Association 

(NBA) Championship; 

Whereas Dwyane Wade, of the Miami Heat, was named the 

2006 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player; 

Whereas the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in 6 

games in the first round of the NBA playoffs; 

Whereas the Miami Heat defeated the New Jersey Nets in 

5 games in the second round of the NBA playoffs; 

Whereas, in the third round of the NBA playoffs, the Miami 

Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons, their archrival and the 

defending Eastern Conference Champions, in 6 games; 

Whereas the ‘‘White Hot’’ Miami Heat fans sold out the 

American Airlines Arena and cheered on their hometown 

team; 

Whereas the Miami Heat remained persistent and continued 

to believe in themselves throughout the playoffs; 
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•HRES 887 EH 

Whereas the Miami Heat are the first team since 1977 to win 

4 NBA Finals games consecutively after losing the first 

two games, and in doing so, the Miami Heat made one 

of the most stunning turnarounds in NBA history; 

Whereas the Miami Heat became just the third team in the 

history of the NBA Finals to win a series after losing the 

first two games, and the first team in the history of the 

NBA Finals to do so after losing the first two games by 

double-digit margins; 

Whereas this is the first NBA championship title for the 

Miami Heat, which has long been one of the most outstanding basketball programs in the Nation; 

Whereas Pat Riley, the head coach of the Miami Heat, has 

cemented his legacy as one of basketball’s all-time great 

head coaches by winning his fifth NBA championship 

title; 

Whereas, in game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat were 

losing by 13 points on their home floor with only 6 minutes 30 seconds left; 

Whereas the Miami Heat came back with the tenacity of 

Dwyane Wade and won game 3 of the NBA Finals by 

2 points; 

Whereas Micky Arison, owner and Managing General Partner 

of the Miami Heat; Pat Riley, Head Coach and President 

of Basketball Operations; Randy Pfund, General Manager; Eric Woolworth, President of Business Operations; 

and Andy Elisburg, Senior Vice President of Basketball 

Operations, have shown a positive commitment to the 

Miami Heat franchise by successfully acquiring, assembling, and maintaining a team of high-quality, winning 

players; 
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•HRES 887 EH 

Whereas ‘‘15 strong’’ brought the first NBA championship 

title to the City of Miami; 

Whereas the Miami Heat team of skilled players, including 

Derek Anderson, Shandon Anderson, Earl Barron, Michael Doleac, Udonis Haslem, Jason Kapono, Alonzo 

Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, James Posey, 

Wayne Simien, Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker, Jason 

Williams, and Dorell Wright, contributed extraordinary 

performances during the regular season, the NBA playoffs, and the NBA Finals; 

Whereas veteran Michael Doleac, and future stars Jason 

Kapono, Wayne Simien, Dorell Wright, Earl Barron, and 

Matt Walsh, helped shape the Miami Heat by preparing 

the starters for the postseason, giving the starters tough 

practices and quality scrimmages; 

Whereas Shandon Anderson and Derek Anderson added to 

the Miami Heat’s experience base by bringing their 

knowledge and NBA Finals experience from runner-up 

finishes in Utah and San Antonio, respectively; 

Whereas, in game 6 of the NBA Finals, James Posey hit a 

big 3-pointer to put the Miami Heat up by 6 points with 

only 3 minutes left to play; 

Whereas Alonzo Mourning, returning from a nearly careerending kidney illness and kidney transplant, came up 

with 6 rebounds and 5 monster blocked shots to turn the 

tide in game 6 of the NBA Finals; 

Whereas Gary Payton, having consistently shown his greatness on two near-championship NBA teams, hit a 21-foot 

jumper to save and seal a comeback victory for the 

Miami Heat in game 3 of the NBA Finals; 
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•HRES 887 EH 

Whereas Jason Williams shot a team-high 34 percent from 

the three-point line and led the Miami Heat in assists 

during the NBA Finals, while directing the Miami Heat 

offense from the point guard position; 

Whereas Antoine Walker, the Miami Heat’s second-highest 

scorer in the NBA Finals, scored 14 points and kept the 

Miami Heat in important point-scoring opportunities by 

pulling down 11 big rebounds in game 6 of the NBA 

Finals; 

Whereas Udonis Haslem, playing with a badly injured shoulder, showed the heart of a champion by contributing 17 

points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals, one of which was with 

time winding down; 

Whereas Shaquille ‘‘Shaq’’ O’Neal came to the Miami Heat 

and on July 21, 2004 said, ‘‘I want ya’ll to remember 

this day, because we’re going to do it again in June. I’m 

going to bring a championship to Miami. I promise you.’’; 

Whereas Shaq delivered over 1,100 points, 104 blocks, 113 

assists, and 541 rebounds in the regular season, adding 

another 83 points, 5 blocks, 17 assists, and 33 rebounds 

in the NBA Finals for his fourth NBA championship 

title; 

Whereas Dwyane Wade scored 42, 36, 43, and 36 points in 

the Miami Heat’s NBA Finals victories, leading all scorers; 

Whereas, in the NBA Finals, Dwyane Wade had the Miami 

Heat’s second-highest rebound total, with 47; the secondhighest number of assists, with 28; the second-highest 

number of blocks, with 6; the highest free throw percentage, at 77 percent; and the highest point total from the 
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•HRES 887 EH 

free-throw line, with 75; all in route to his first NBA 

Finals Most Valuable Player award; 

Whereas the Miami Heat coaching and support staff, including Head Coach Pat Riley; Assistant Coaches Bob 

McAdoo, Keith Askins, Erik Spoelstra, and Ron 

Rothstein; Assistant Coach/Advance Scout Bimbo Coles; 

Strength and Conditioning Coach Bill Foran; Athletic 

Trainer Ron Culp; and Assistant Trainer Jay Sabol, exhibited exemplary leadership and guidance to the team; 

Whereas the Miami Heat have not only been players on the 

court, but have also been instrumental role models to the 

south Florida community; 

Whereas the Miami Heat organization has a positive civic impact on the south Florida community through the Miami 

HEAT Family Outreach Charitable Fund, Heat Academy, Heat Scholarships, Miami Heat Read to Achieve, 

Miami Heat Fun-Raiser, Miami Heat Wheels, Shoot For 

the Stars Books and Basketball Summer Clinics, Heat 

Youth Basketball, and the Miami Heat Learn to Swim 

Program; and 

Whereas the Miami Heat fans are a part of this championship by supporting the team and giving the team the energy, strength, love, and passion to compete each and 

every season: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) congratulates—

(A) the Miami Heat for winning the 2006 National Basketball Association (NBA) World Championship and for their outstanding performance during the 2005–2006 NBA season; and 
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•HRES 887 EH 

(B) Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade for winning the 2006 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player 

Award; 

(2) recognizes and praises the achievements of the 

Miami Heat players, coaches, management, and support 

staff whose hard work, dedication, and resilience proved 

instrumental throughout the Miami Heat’s championship 

season; 

(3) commends the south Florida community and the 

Miami Heat fans for their dedication; and 

(4) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to—

(A) each of the Miami Heat players; 

(B) Pat Riley, Miami Heat Head Coach and 

President of Basketball Operations; 

(C) Micky Arison, Miami Heat owner and 

Managing General Partner; 

(D) Randy Pfund, Miami Heat General Manager; 

(E) Eric Woolworth, Miami Heat President of 

Business Operations; 

(F) Andy Elisburg, Miami Heat Senior Vice 

President of Basketball Operations; 

(G) each of the Miami Heat coaches and trainers; 
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(H) the Honorable Manny Diaz, Mayor of the 

City of Miami, Florida; 

(I) the Honorable Carlos Alvarez, Mayor of 

Miami-Dade County, Florida; and 

(J) the Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor of the 

State of Florida.

Attest: 

Clerk.