The 1989 Miami Heat: The Most Traveled Team in NBA History

March 15, 1989 - In order to maintain conference equilibrium upon the arrival of two expansion teams in 1988, the NBA sent one new team east and one new team west. As a result, the Miami Heat spent their first season in existence in the Western Conference, where their closest conference opponent, the Houston Rockets, was nearly 1,000 miles away by air. All told, the Miami Heat traveled over 60,000 miles during their inaugural season. Order was restored the following season, as the arrival of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic allowed for the Heat to transition to the more palatable Eastern Conference.

As of 2022, the Heat remain one of the most traveled teams in the NBA, galivanting over 47,000 miles during the 2021-22 regular season by some calculations, still a far cry from 1989.

Special thanks to Hardwood and Hoops

[Bart]

Charlotte would join the Midwest division for the 1989 90 season and Orlando was placed in the Midwest for the 90 91 season.the idea was to spread them around get them more exposure on the west coast

[dissaver]

It would be interesting to calculate how many air miles are traveled by the whole league in a year. It probably translates to an obscene amount of emissions.

[spacemansports]

From small market team to one of the NBA’s overrated Teams.