2003–04 Miami Heat season

The 2003–04 NBA season was the 16th season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association. This season saw the team draft future All-Star and 3-time NBA Champion Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, while acquiring forward Lamar Odom from the Los Angeles Clippers. Before the season began, head coach Pat Riley resigned, but he would later return midway in the 2005–06 season and help guide the Heat to their first ever NBA championship. Under new head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Heat stumbled out of the gate losing their first seven games. By the beginning of March, the team had a record of 25–36. However, the Heat rallied to win 17 of their last 21 games, finishing with a final record of 42–40. Despite the mediocre record, the Heat entered the playoffs as the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Wade had a stellar rookie season, averaging 16.2 points per game, and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team.

The first round series pitted the Heat against the New Orleans Hornets, then in its second season of existence. The Heat would go on to defeat New Orleans in seven games. They advanced to the Conference Semi-finals for the first time since 2000. However, they went no further as they fell to the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in six games.

Following the season, Odom, second-year forward Caron Butler, and Brian Grant were all traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for big man Shaquille O'Neal, who had bad blood with Kobe Bryant; Bryant blamed O'Neal for the Lakers' loss in the finals to the underdog Detroit Pistons.