When Will The Miami Heat Be Relevant Enough for Christmas Again?

Jan 19, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley sits on the court for the jersey retirement ceremony for former player Udonis Haslem during halftime of the game between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

There was a time you couldn't unwrap gifts and turn on the television without sneaking a peek at the Miami Heat.

One of Pat Riley's legacies since taking over the Heat franchise in 1995 has been keeping it consistently relevant, enough that the team has often been featured -- and repeatedly successful -- on Christmas. In fact, only two East squads, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, are on the schedule of five games. They will be facing each other.

Miami finished 10th in the East last season, before winning two play-in games. They don't have a Dwyane Wade or LeBron James anymore; just good-but-not-elite players such as Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. So this time they had no shot. Which is a shame, because Erik Spoelstra has been unbeatable on Christmas: 9-0, including a win in 2023 when Jimmy Butler was still around.

Jan 14, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley (R) shows former player Dwayne Wade (L) a bobble head while announcing that a statue in the likeness of Wade will be erected outside the arena in 2025, during halftime of the game between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

All-time? The Heat are 12-2, not losing since 2007, when they were defending their first championship. They've had some memorable wins, including a James triple-double against the Lakers in 2012, and Shaquille O'Neal's triumphant return to Los Angeles in 2005. The Heat even beat James in 2014, after he returned to Miami with the Cavaliers, during his second Cleveland go-round.

There also was the season-opening destruction of the Dallas Mavericks, in the first game of the lockout-delayed 2011 season, a little revenge for the Mavericks' Finals victory against the Heat the previous June.

There's little left for Riley, now 80, to accomplish during his memorable NBA run. But one goal should be making the franchise matter enough again for the league and its television partners to take notice. Because the holiday doesn't feel quite right without it.

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