2011–12 Miami Heat season

The 2011–12 Miami Heat season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They came into the season as the defending Eastern Conference champions, the second season playing with the "Big Three" of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, and the fourth season under head coach Erik Spoelstra. Prior to the beginning of the season, they looked to bounce back from their disappointing finish to the previous year where they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

Following the 2011 NBA lockout, the Heat played only 66 games this season and finished with a 46–20 record, roughly the equivalent of 57–25. They won their division for the 9th time and appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th time. For the second consecutive year, Wade, James, and Bosh were all selected to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, tying the record for the most Heat players sent to an All-Star game in franchise history.

In the playoffs, they met the New York Knicks in first round, reigniting the Heat-Knicks rivalry as it was their first postseason meeting since 2000. However, the notion of a heated rivalry fell flat as the Heat defeated the Knicks in 5 games, beating their arch rivals in a playoff series for the first time since 1997. Next, they faced Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals and defeated them in 6 games despite losing Bosh in Game 1 to injury. Then, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat met the Boston Celtics for their third consecutive postseason meeting. The Heat took a 2-0 series lead before losing 3 straight. However, the Heat forced a Game 7 thanks to an epic 45 point performance by James in Game 6. On June 9, 2012, the Heat won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and 3rd time in franchise history.

In the NBA Finals, the Heat faced the Oklahoma City Thunder, who entered the NBA Finals as favorites thanks to home court advantage. Despite losing Game 1 in Oklahoma City, the Heat battled back by winning the next three straight games to take a 3-1 series lead. On June 21, 2012, the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 121–106 Game 5 victory, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 to become the 2012 NBA Champions. This was the second NBA championship for the franchise, as well as the Heat’s first since 2006. They also became the third (and final) team under the 2-3-2 format to win the middle three games at home, the others being their 2006 team and the 2004 Detroit Pistons. For the first time in his career, LeBron James won his first NBA championship, and was awarded the 2012 NBA Finals MVP. During their postseason run, the 2011-12 Miami Heat became the second team in NBA history to win a championship despite trailing three separate times in a postseason series (2-1 in the conference semifinals, 3-2 in the conference finals, and 0-1 in the NBA Finals), with the first being the 1995 Houston Rockets.