The 2023 Miami Heat are the second team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals as the eighth seed. Everyone reading this already knows that the first team to do so was the 1999 New York Knicks.
The NBA landscape has changed dramatically since 1999. Commissioner Adam Silver had to be ecstatic with how this year’s playoffs transpired. Not only was it a coronation for arguably the league’s best player, but also a season where a play-in team was just three wins away from a title.
Silver got to see his baby take its first steps.