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;
•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 out-
standing 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 min-
utes 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 Man-
ager; 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, assem-
bling, and maintaining a team of high-quality, winning 
players;
•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, Mi-
chael 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 play-
offs, 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 career-
ending 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 great-
ness 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;