We’re moving on to South Florida today on this NBA Tuesday miniseries that explores the best teams in individual franchise histories. The Miami Heat joined the league in 1988, and it has been a successful franchise with 24 postseason appearances in 35 seasons now—including three NBA championships (2006, 2012, 2013). The current squad could pull off a fourth if it gets really lucky (or luckier?!).

No. 5: 1996-97 Miami Heat

The first team in franchise history to finish atop its division, a 61-21 record secured Miami the Atlantic with the No. 22 offense and the No. 3 defense, combining for a No. 4 ranking in the SRS overall. In the opening playoff round, the Heat beat the Orlando Magic in a best-of-five series, needing a fifth game. Then, Miami beat the New York Knicks in seven games before losing to the champion Chicago Bulls.

Point guard Tim Hardaway (12.9 Win Shares), center Alonzo Mourning (8.4), power forward P.J. Brown (7.5), and shooting guard Voshon Lenard (6.8) were the top dogs. The deciding elimination games in both the first two series took a lot of energy out of the Heat, of course, although there was no way forward through Michael Jordan and the Bulls: Miami lost that series, pretty quickly, in five games.

No. 4: 2011-12 Miami Heat

A shortened season produced a 46-20 record and a Southeast Division title, with the No. 7 offense and the No. 4 defense, and the No. 4 spot in the overall SRS rankings, too. But Miami did pretty well in the postseason: it beat the Knicks in five games first, and then the Heat dropped the Indiana Pacers in six games and the Boston Celtics in seven games before winning the title in five games over Oklahoma City.

The “Big Three” led this team, of course: small forward LeBron James (14.5 WS), SG Dwyane Wade (7.7), and PF Chris Bosh (6.9). Miami had to come from behind in the Boston series, winning the last two games to advance, but the Finals against the upstart Thunder were somewhat “easy”: OKC won the first game, and then the Heat won four straight games to claim the title, including a 15-point win in Game 5.

No. 3: 2004-05 Miami Heat

A year before winning it all for the first time, the Heat went 59-23 to win the Atlantic. The team had the No. 4 offense, the No. 8 defense, and the No. 4 ranking overall in the SRS. Miami rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping both the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Wizards. But then they faced the defending champion Detroit Pistons, and Miami lost a grinding seven-game series.

The starting lineup was amazing: Wade (11.0 WS), C Shaquille O’Neal (11.0), PF Udonis Haslem (9.2), PG Damon Jones (8.7), and SF Eddie Jones (8.0). Yet there was not a lot of depth on this team, with no one else over 2.7 WS for the year. Against Detroit, the Heat lost Games 1 and 7 at home, which was a disappointment: Miami had the lead entering the fourth quarter of Game 7, too, so it was crushing.

No. 2: 2010-11 Miami Heat

The King’s first season in Miami was mostly a success: a 58-24 record, the Southeast crown, and the No. 1 ranking in the SRS overall (based on the No. 8 offense and the No. 6 defense). The Heat beat three successive Eastern Conference opponents in five games each to reach the Finals: Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago. But after going up 2-1 against Dallas, Miami lost three straight games to blow its title shot.

The aforementioned trio was dominant: James (15.6 WS), Wade (12.8), and Bosh (10.3) all played outstanding. But the roster didn’t have a lot else on it, in truth. Still, the meltdown against the Mavs was difficult to endure: the Heat lost the four games by a combined 24 points, while winning its two games by a combined 10 points. It was a close series that could have gone either way, really, so … bad luck?

No. 1: 2012-13 Miami Heat

The best team in franchise history won 66 games as the defending champions to win the Southeast again. The Heat finished No. 2 in the overall SRS rankings, with the No. 5 offense and the No. 5 defense. The first two rounds were easy: Miami dropped one game in eliminating Milwaukee (four games) and Chicago (five games). But beating Indiana (seven games) and San Antonio (seven games) was hard.

James (19.3 WS), Wade (9.6), and Bosh (9.0) again were the leaders. The extra depth on this team did come in handy, though, in the postseason. Against the Pacers, it was a lot of back-and-forth until Miami won Game 7 at home by 23 points. The Spurs were a different beast, though: San Antonio stole Game 1 on the road and had a 3-2 lead in the series until momentum changed for good in an instant in Game 6.