This was the only Finals of the 2000s not to involve the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs, and the first since 1995 not to feature either Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich as head coach.

In Riley's first stint, the Heat were playoff regulars between 1996 and 2001, however, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks always thwarted Miami's dreams of a championship or even a Finals berth.

Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami.

Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left on the overtime game clock.

After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after which Devin Harris missed a Hail Mary half-court shot as time expired.

After the game, a frustrated Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in fines of $5,000 and $250,000, respectively, for the two men.

[6] Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to edge Dallas and win their first championship in franchise history as Jason Terry missed a critical 3-pointer that would've sent the game to overtime.

Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was named NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player).

[7] Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and color commentator Hubie Brown called the action, with courtside reporting by Lisa Salters and Stuart Scott.

The following season, Brown slid down to ESPN's secondary team with Mike Tirico (the pair would also call ESPN Radio's NBA Finals broadcasts that season), while Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy (the latter after his dismissal as Houston Rockets head coach) joined Breen on the lead team.

After another playoff loss to the New Orleans Hornets in 2008, in which the Mavericks brought back Jason Kidd, head coach Avery Johnson was fired and replaced by Rick Carlisle.

The Heat would lose convincingly by 42 points to the Chicago Bulls in the opening night of the 2006–07 season, the worst opening-day margin of defeat for a defending champion in NBA history.

The Heat gradually climbed back to contention in the Erik Spoelstra era, culminating in the much-publicized free-agent acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Like the Heat in 2006, the Mavericks experienced a post-championship letdown, getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, and then missed the postseason entirely in 2013.

The Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals; coincidentally, the head coach Jason Kidd won a championship in 2011 with the team.