Thanks to NordVPN for their support - Holiday Season Deal! Go to nordvpn.com/clayton to get 73% off a two year plan plus one additional month free, only $3.16 per month.

I think the thing about the 2013 ring is that if the Spurs had won then, they wouldn't have spent the 2014 season as a revenge tour. I think in every version of the universe, the Heat win one and the Spurs win one, just not necessarily the same years.

That Heat team was great but when you stack them up as a team to the other juggernauts, they don't stack up that well. People forget that Dwade was riddled with injuries after the first finals (still good for the second year), they had shooters throughout those years but no really good big men (34-35 year old Chris Anderson probably being their best one and he was usually benched during crunch time and put LeBron at the 5) and their bench was not deep and very aged. They had a lot of holes on that team. Now just visually speaking they were top tier content. LeBron was in his physical prime flying around the court on offense and defense looking angry and mean with those all black, all white and all red jerseys on lol Then you had Dwade throwing up full court oops to him and them going on win streaks, crowds booing them. Just amazing entertainment. That heat crowd was different different too. The highs and lows of that team were magnified and it felt like a movie. When the Heat were playing, the atmosphere was just different. While I understand why people call them a super team because of the 3 stars, they were not actually that crazy built as a team compared to the top of the line all time great teams who had stars AND deep benches. So while I would say they fall short of that, they were for sure one of the most entertaining teams of all time

He’s back! Clayton Crowley is what ESPN should be

The Cavs also made 4 straight finals in 2015, '16, '17 & '18 not just the Heat, Celtics and Warriors. Also just wanna say how impressive your content is, you're easily one of the highest quality NBA guys out there, and you really came out the gate hot, I don't think you've made a bad video, I don't even think you've made a not great video. Hope more people get recommended this because they'd definitely stick around.

Born and raised in south Florida, 2010-2014 was a magical time. As much as it hurts to admit I feel the general consensus amongst heat fans is that we did underachieve. What hurts even more though is that Dwyane Wade's brilliance gets completely over-shadowed. Would I trade 2 rings for Wade to get a little more shine? Absolutely not, but being that Wade is unanimously considered the 3rd best SG of all time and you barely even mentioned his name in the video proves that point exactly. LeBron's ascension to Mt. Rushmore doesn't happen without Dwyane Wade. His prior championship knowledge as well as his willingness to be a second fiddle to someone who a lot of people consider to be the GOAT allowed him to be just that. I truly don't believe LeBron gets there without Wade's influence

I love these videos and the fact this popped up as soon I got on, legendary

I also feel a similar way about the 2015-2016 Cavs too. They would’ve been far better in the regular season if Kyrie wasn’t in and out of the lineup with injury.

I'm only 30, but this was my favorite time to watch basketball. So many legends that we don't talk about anymore and they were only legends in this era. Chandler Parsons for a bit? Jeremy Lin? Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson? Rose's Bulls? The underachieving Thunder with Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka? Those same Celtics. Kobe and Pau still hanging in there. Paul George just beginning to blossom. The low-key good Nuggets. That brutal Memphis team. Dwight Howard's ridiculous journey in that time. And of course my underachieving, but still highly respectable Spurs. And of course these villains. It was also the heart of that transitioning phase between grinding games to the up-tempo style of today. The Warriors solidified it and then brought boring basketball with them until we are just now starting to rebalance, but this time frame here was like a cultural war still going hot. Before the slow big men were made useless. When 3s were still impressive. Drama. Combine everything about this era and it was just incredible television and I think that makes us a bit biased about why we want them to be regarded as so good. This Heat team might not be among the best ever, but they were barely the best in one of the most competitive eras ever when all is said and done, so it just feels big. I'm not going to sit here and ever make a case for them, but I am going to fully embrace that feeling where they just did provide me with quality entertainment of the highest tier.

The fact that Lebron was on 2 of the only 4 teams to ever 4peat to the Finals is pretty crazy

They absolutely underachieved and are absolutely a top 10 NBA team of all time even with just two chips

You’re a great writer, you do a great job of capturing the emotions associated with the moments you’re covering.

Clayton! Another absolute CLASSIC. Beautiful writing, mixed with logical points, and a fair, appreciative outlook. You're music to the soul, my man.

People heavily underate this team. 66 wins, 27 straight wins (2nd most ever), 15-1 on 2nd night back to backs (most ever), evolution of small ball on offense and defense, and a roster that is crazy underplayed (people act like it was prime bron, some past their prime has beens and bums). This should be one of the greatest teams of all time. And Clayton has always said you take advantage of your advantages. Ray Allen was a great three point shooter. If he missed, it would've been a bunch of criticism of the team that BRON helped built. This is all just my opinion

This video just made think why the 13-14 Spurs aren't on your list for one of the greatest teams ever. What they did to the league that year and the beauty of their game hasn't been seen since and arguably set up the formula for what made the Warriors so great. Not many people remember that the Spurs were the team that ushered in the 3-point era that year.

The 1988 Lakers came just as close as 2013 Heat to losing the Finals.

this team heavily influenced pace and space as well

Man, that was such a fun 4 years! The rush of watching so many high stakes games even during the regular season when every other team wanted to beat us, especially during the 27 game winning streak!! Contrasted with our Finals run in the bubble. It was a very different experience, once we got past the Bucks, it felt like playing with house money. It’s different when your team is the favorite and has the best player in the league in his prime vs that bubble run with a fun scrappy team (albeit Jimmy playing like prime LBJ). The 2005 and 2006 teams were more like the Heatles because those teams were expected to make deep playoff runs and Finals berths! The Heat have been a constant bright spot as long as I have been watching sports. The Marlins got a couple good runs before selling off their teams, the Dolphins have been mediocre at best, the Panthers are fun but never good (I’m too young to remember they’re Finals run, though this year look out!)

This heat team doesn’t get enough credit for popularizing small ball and having a 5 out offense. Definitely agree with your beginning statement their legacy was dwarfed by the warriors success

Would you ever make a one-off video about your thoughts, impressions, and overall appreciation of the very same 2013-2014 Spurs team that decimated the Heatles? They're my favorite squad ever, and I'd love to hear more detailed analysis about why they were so great and fun to watch!

I remember the headband game. That may have also been the first time people had seen that Bron was starting to go bald. Starting to think he kinda knew it and that's why he went absolutely apeshit on the Spurs.

If the Heat win 2011 and threepeat, I honestly see the momentum carrying over to a fourpeat. Would the Spurs reach the peak they did in 2014? Would the Heat still slow down as bad as they did in the second half of the 2014 regular season? I see them winning 57+ that year if they threepeat 2011-2013. I see them pulling out multiple wins like game 2 of the 2014 finals

The heat team in 2014 wasnt old or declining. They were beaten. Like when isiah said the pistons got old, scottie said no, they were beaten.

What I find most interesting is they are the only team to beat the spurs in the finals, and the only eastern team to win back to back finals since Jordan retired from Chicago.

Your conclusion in the end is masterful- they shot par & are 1 of the most important teams of all time. Few words but a precise conclusion

A whole video just to defend not giving the 2014 Spurs a Making the Case. I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU CLAYTON... but I will keep watching every video.

I’ll remember them for Wade and Lebron coughing on their way into the arena to mock Dirk in the 2011 Finals. And I assure you, they remember it as well.

The Miami heat 2012-13 team were one of the greatest and most entertaining team of all time

I remember the aftermath of the Ray Allen game. We had a PE assembly after lunch (time zones, NBA games aired 9am to lunch in the Philippines) and the ENTIRETY of my Grade 6 batch were in the throes of Heatmania. It was insane, nobody in that assembly that day ever declared themselves as a Spurs fan. We ALL wanted Lebron to win.

Around 08 is when me and my friends got into basketball and I remember love watching Dwade play. So I claimed Heat as my team, which to this day still a die hard fan, then Bron and Bosh joined and I remember loving it but everyone hated it lol watch ever playoff series I remember where I was when they won and lost and still remember the sadness and excitement. Sadly I haven't loved basketball as much as I did in those days but man the up's and downs were some of my fondness memories.

Always a great day when Clayton posts

Fun fact when lebron joined the heat he said he chose to wear number 6 because he wanted a change the reality was he couldn't wear 23 because the heat retired the number in honor of Jordan and they refused to unretire it for lebron

I think they feel weird because they weren't organic. The period perfectly fits into the legacy of every important member of the team from Leborn (as the rise to the top after leaving home), Wade (as doing it again as the 2nd option, similarly to Kobe's first 3 title period, but reverse order) through Bosh (sacrifising status to be part of a champ caliber team) and Allen (as his personal last dance) to Spoelstra and Riley. But The Heat, as the team, it's until 2010, cut, the dynasty until 2014, cut, post 2014 team. You can't take into account where they come from and how they lost their status, because those parts are missing. You have this alien, 4 years of top team, that came, existed, won, lost and it was gone. That's unlike anything we have seen, so hard to have comparisons and therefore definetive feelings.

As a kid who grew up in Miami, I was just leaving elementary school during this era and been to several lebron era heat games, i was a fan of the Miami heat, not just lebron. I was too young to realize the bigger picture. I really loved that my hometown team went on a 27 game win streak or attracted such national attention. It was insane. It’s easily my favorite team of all time

1:06 the lakers also made 4 straight Finals in the Showtime era where they '82-'85

You gotta make a video about the 2014 Spurs at some point. It's clear you've got a special reverence for how they played.

that 2011 heat team was severely underpowered. no elite pg, no 7 footers, no shooters, no bench, just a big 3. that 2011 mavs team had EVERYTHING a nba champ should have, they had shooters galore, elite pgs, 2 7 footers that could shoot, they SWEPT kobe who was on his way to a 3peat they broke playoff single game free throw and 3pt records. that mavs team being seen as just dirk dominance never will sit right with me sure he played elite basketball but so did the REST OF HIS TEAM. lebrons first and last heat team left him high and dry in big moments. dirks mavs we’re firing on all cylinders every damn game, dirk would shoot poorly from the field but get like 20+ free throws whenever he wanted, harden and bron learned how from him literally

Great video as always. Also shout out to the Black Ops 2 multiplayer music in the ad 😂

2012-2013 heat beating the 2016 warriors

The Miami Heat that rang in the new decade from 2010 on was the blueprint for what the Golden State Warriors would become later in that same decade. The amount of parallels from Lebron moving to Miami and KD going to GS and the history both moves made is eerily similar. Lebron, from the moment of his "The Decision" special, blazed a new path for NBA players to put their own lives ahead of the franchises that drafted them, their own happiness over the franchise's success. Was it a bad thing for Lebron to do? Objectively, no, he has and had every right to take his talents to whatever team he wanted to. Subjectively, yes, he destroyed the existing "parity" in the NBA at the time by creating the new "Big 3" to take over the NBA. As Clayton pointed out early in the video, those Miami Heat teams will always have the stigma of "underachievement" because of how much hype was built up around the team. Had Lebron not gone the way he had of flaunting the "Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4" speech, the team might be viewed a bit more favorably in hindsight. But because of the massive expectations and hype that was put on the Heat as well as the initial collapse of the 2011 Finals, the combination of those two things, among a myriad of other factors, makes those Lebron Miami Heat teams not as great in comparison to other great teams. Credit is due for those Heat teams but not in the same way that was put into the series of Making the Case for the GOAT teams. Hell, even Bill Simmons did a mock tournament with Zach Lowe on the GOAT teams and both of them even said that those Lebron Miami Heat teams, as good as they were, don't hold a candlelight to other teams, like the 2017 Golden State Warriors. Great video as always, CC! I wish you could upload more often but I know that you put a lot of time, care, and effort into each video you put up so as I wait for more, I will gladly rewatch your older videos again and again. Edit: a word

One more comment. You are massively underrating those pacers teams. We played them three straight years and it was a dogfight each time and that does not blemish the Beatles legacy.

Got in trouble for listening to your video during class but it was worth it🙏🏼

Let’s go, new Clayton Crowley!!!

2013 Heat to me are the best team of all time. Or just bias since they are my all time favorite They are the ones that started the Small Ball Death Lineup with Wade at PG. Allen SG Battie SF Bron PF and Bosh C. This lineup will always be my favorite starting 5

The heat team was very top heavy. There were many games where James and Wade had to score close 80 points combined just to squeak by a mediocre team that was .500 or under. Chalmers was a good pg, but with guys like Curry, rose, Russ, cp3, etc all getting better , they often times struggled against star point guards. And because they had subpar rim protection, slashing guards like rondo, rose, and Russ feasted. It took LeBron switching onto rose games 4 and 5 of the 2011 ecf to win games 4 and 5 down the stretch. Guys like Brandon Jennings, Michael Carter Williams, Jrue Holiday , monta Ellis all had huge scoring games versus the Heat. Rondo was the primary reason the 2012 ecf went to 7 games, his development from the year prior was astounding and the way he diced up the heat defense was extraordinary. As a LeBron and Wade supporter, he was scary. Even though they gave him 6 ft of space he would still somehow always find his way into the paint. It's why Tony Parker, patty Mills and Manu feasted in the 2014 finals, just drive and kick and the heat defense would collapse. So for them to even win 2 rings with all the defensive problems, (they were largely great defensively because they could get a lot of steals and a few blocks but weren't gunna outright shutdown many stars). It's LeBron and wades great overall ability that really made them successful along with Bosh Ray and Mike Miller creating space for them to flourish. But in all whenever LeBron would sit or not play they had a losing record. A superteam is supposed to be able to go without one of their stars and still win games the heat couldn't. And because they lacked in rim protection they were also out rebounded quite a bit. It's how the Bulls in 2013 snapped their win streak. Noah and Boozer were grabbing a ton of offensive rebounds giving the bulls more chances to score. It's a large reason they went to 7 with the pacers, Hibbert and west feasted on putbacks all series long. If the heat had managed to acquire a defensive minded rebounding big that was a young upcoming big and could catch lobs they would've 3 peated or at least taken the Spurs in 2014 to 6-7. But they had so many enemies from Orlando to Cleveland to the Lakers to the Knicks, Celtics pacers, thunder I think nobody wanted to help em with a trade.

I’d love to see a second season of making the case for players. I feel like the series itself is less about who the actual GOAT is and more about showing players in the best possible light and if you were to say make a video for everyone you think has a case to be top 5 or 10 I think that’d be really interesting (and also gives you an opportunity to make the kobe you know you want to make)

I will say that those teams produced 4 years of the most entertaining Finals and Eastern Conference playoffs in recent memory.

Heliocentric is the best original(I hope) term I’ve heard used when taking about sports. Great vocab man

Flawless transition to the ad, including the black ops music. Classic

Excellent work, Clayton. This video gave me chills.

LeBron had prime wade for only the first year smh

As Dwyane Wade’s Heat team that’s how

I've never been the biggest fan of your thumbnails but this one is fire. I'd say your best thumbnails are this one, Making the Case Warriors, Making the Case Bulls, Finals MVP, GOAT Shooter, Skip Bayless is an embarrassment and your "Let's laugh at the New York Knicks." The improvement over time is great. It's funny, as well as the the MJ video, these videos I listed are all my favourite videos from you. Awesome to see.

This team impacted basketball in many ways. The 2013 team will for be my favorite team.

adding the bo2 music on the nord vpn ad was masterful editing

My day is always made whenever you upload Daddy Clayton

The not 1 not 2 not 3 shirts by Timmy is still the funniest shit to this day 😂

Heat were a great team, I'm sure people dock some points from them for multiple reasons though. I dock points from golden state for the reason being the NBA just shifted how they allowed the game to be played when their era started. Every little contact became a foul and people started playing "pretend defense" where they stand 10 feet away from the shooter and then put a hand up when she shot is already about to be released and they have no shot of contesting it, just to look like they're playing defense but won't commit a foul. The NBA made it so shooters can shoot with no defense on them and the lane became wide open because big men had to just stand back and let people get layups and dunks unless they want to get a foul for barely laying a finger on the person driving. Flopping was more of a thing during the Heat's era, it disappeared mostly during the Warriors era for the fact that nobody played defense anymore so there was no reason to flop

1:08 the 80s Celtics also went to 4 straight finals.....but if you meant "franchise" as in the team in general, then sure. But I saw you specified the 60s Celtics and mid 2010s warriors, so I just wanted to throw Bird's Celtics in there. They also won two in that span, just like this Heat team.

another banger from claygod

one thing for sure, those wade-to-james and james-to-wade fastbreak/alley-oops were a hell of a lot of fun to witness...

Honestly the best nba KZfaqr out there right now. Great concepts and content

Yea, definitely going to need more videos like this one

Bro the black ops 2 music during the ad 😂

The Heat were my high school years. I can confidently say they underachieved in terms of winning rings. But they overachieved in impact and made the NBA must see. Amazing video! SB: Lebron should have 3 peated in Miami

Love your videos man. Your probably the best hoops account on the platform right now. I’m a diehard heat homer so I massively overrate this team, but the big 3 years will always be the greatest years of my basketball watching life. No matter the result in the finals, going to four straight is hard to do no matter who is on your squad.

The thing about Heat was that it was way more mental than ever! Everyone hated them and wanted to beat them badly at all costs and then still winning 2 chips with that amount of resistance by the competition they had even the east had its obstacles the Pacers weren’t in the ecf for no reason and it’s really more difficult sometimes to play against an underdog who is suddenly playing above his average and surprises you big time cuz you don’t expect that and the Spurs were always a 50+ winning team that time so

When they suit up with that black jersey, its like they were the deadliest villains..

this is a TOP TIER advertisement segway brotha.. well done 😂

The BO2 music in the background of the Ad read hit different

This is a great video. Would love to see one contributed to that 2014 Spurs team one day

Fire writing/commentary man

Heat - 2 chips in 4 season (failure and underperformed) KD in GS - 2 chips in 3 seasons (amazing Disnasty) Plus.. would be the same 2 chips in 4 seasons, considering KD and Klay were still hurt the following season.

Dirk truly did upset the whole NBA narrative through the 15 year 99-'14 period. It was basically a Western Conference owned league, and it was the Lakers and the Spurs who traded that ownership back and forth. What made the Heatles incredible was their timing-finally, a team to challenge the West! Dethrone the Lakers and the Spurs! The Celtics had failed, perhaps the Heat could return to 2006 form and dethrone the West? But Dirk wanted revenge, overthrew the West's reigning Champs, and came back to upset a budding dynasty. Pretty great. The Heat still rank as one of only a handful of teams that upset the Lakers/Spurs dominance.

Not one bad video on this channel 🔥🔥

Thanks for getting me into basketball, Clayton. Really love the content

The Heatles era was underrated 4 straight finals back to back titles Ray Allen legendary 3 pointer in game 6

Can you do a video on the Spurs dynasty or a 2014 Spurs video (my personal favorite ever team)?

Bro I just found u and you make amazing videos keep up the good work

the lebron heat teams were by far my favorite to watch. as a team and the wade/lebron outlets and fast breaks were just superior entertainment. i loved the 90s bulls and rodman's antics but id still choose to watch these heat teams. the way bosh came in clutch defensively more than anyone could have expected. i am disappointed they didnt win more rings but i dont think they were as great a team as haters may argue

To be honest, they underachieving. They should have been a dynasty, but they won as many championships as kobe and Paul duo.

The goat is back

The way I feel about that Heat team is how I feel about the Eli manning championship seasons. It has an asterisk but they were great.

I just saw you tweet about having a new vid always hyped to see ur videos mann goated as always Edit: Also just want to mention this is like the best bday gift btw

This has to be the best way to explain the heat

The goat returns 😁

i like the BO2 theme during the ad

The thing about the Heatles is they only ever got 2 good playoffs out of Wade. After the 27 straight win run in 2013, Wade was never the same player. His knees were shot

The fact that Kobe + Pau did as well as Lebron + Wade + Bash + Ray Alen should say enough about how much of a disapointment this team was. Specially after Lebron said that they were about to rack up championships.

Love the video and I feel very much the same way that it’s so odd that one play here and they could be 1-3 in four years and a few bad games go the other way and they could be 3-1. The thing is we could do that with several dynasties in different ways. It would take to long to do but every team or dynasty has a signing that almost never happened or a shot or this or that.

I’m a new basketball fan, just getting into it in 2022, and Dwade is my favorite player. I didn’t ever experience the hate this team got, but I’ve heard it talked about. But I love that players can team up and make incredible teams. My dad hated it. Interesting.

Other than the loss to Dallas they maxed out their actual potential. Wade was no longer an All NBA level player after 2013. Bosh played only 44 games the year after LeBron left. Bosh played 53 games in 15/16 and was done by Feb 16. Even if LeBron stayed there instead of going back to CLE it's unlikely the Heat would have won any more titles than they did. The 2011 loss was the only 1 they had a good chance to get that they did not.

They should be put in the same category as the 76ers from the early 80s and the Kobe/Pau Lakers.

Great content sir. You are very talented..

I think if lebron averages 20/7/7 on lets instead of 17/7/7 they win that 2011 mavericks finals and wades entire legacy is even greater than it is now which is saying alot for someone who’s already a 25-30 all time greatest player but wade wins that finals MVP i think he’s recognized by most as a top 20 player all time instead of a top 28. People always view the 2011 finals from the perspective of how it affected lebrons legacy and its completely swept under the rug what it wouldve meant for wade which to me is even more interesting cause you can watch those games on youtube right how if you want he is UN-STOPPABLE, im not a lebron hater at all but in that finals series wade CLEARLY was the best player on the team and hes that amazing in those games.

I was in Miami during 2011, and I can definitely understand the hype and the reasons why he did it

2015 Warriors championship was against LeBron without Kyrie and Kevin Love for the whole series. Kyrie played almost all of game 1 until he fractured his knee. And that series was pushed to 6 games crazyyy

Really glad you made this video because they are such an anomaly when you look at them compared to the GOAT teams. They have to be mentioned but their case is just bizzare.

that transition into the NordVPN plug killed me

thanks for always doing great work Clayton :)!