The Miami Heat just revealed their Vice City uniform, a black and neon pink one-night jersey made with Nike, Travis Scott's Cactus Jack and Rockstar Games for the release of GTA VI. It is the newest entry in one of the most-watched uniform histories in the NBA. Here is every primary logo the Heat have used and every jersey era since the team's first season in 1988-89, from the original orange flaming ball to Vice.
The short version: the Heat have had two primary logos in 39 seasons, and their regular uniforms have barely changed since 1999. Almost all the action is in the specials.
Miami Heat Logo and Jersey Timeline
| Years | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1988-1999 | Original logo: an orange flaming basketball through a black hoop. White home and black road uniforms with orange trim. |
| 1995-96 | First red alternate jersey. |
| 1999-present | Logo redesigned in darker red, yellow and black. New uniforms with yellow trim replace orange. |
| 2001-02 | Red alternate with MIAMI across the chest arrives. |
| 2005-06 | Floridians throwbacks honor Miami's ABA team. The Heat win their first title. |
| 2012-13 | The black road jersey switches from HEAT to MIAMI. |
| 2017-18 | Nike era: white Association, black Icon, red Statement. The first Vice City Edition. |
| 2018-2021 | Vice Nights, Sunset Vice, ViceWave, ViceVersa and the yellow Trophy Gold jersey. |
| 2021-2023 | Miami Mashup Vol. 1 (black) and Vol. 2 (white). |
| 2023-2025 | HEAT Culture in black, then red. |
| January 2025 | The original white Vice returns for the rest of 2024-25. |
| 2025-26 | Vice Nights returns as the City Edition. |
| November 18, 2026 | One-night Vice City uniform vs the Bucks. |
Miami Heat Logo History
The Original Flaming Ball (1988-1999)
The 1988-1999 logo. Image: Wikipedia, public domain
The Heat were one of four NBA expansion teams of the late 1980s, and they started play in 1988-89 alongside the Charlotte Hornets. The name came first: it was chosen through a survey in October 1986, before Miami was even awarded a team. Once the franchise was official, the logo was drawn by Miami artist Mark Henderson, a graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and the team announced it in March 1988.
The design is the one everyone still knows: a basketball on fire, flames trailing up behind it, dropping through a hoop. In the original, the ball and flames were an orange-to-red gradient and the rim was black, with "MIAMI HEAT" in heavy black italic letters below.
The Current Logo (1999-Present)
The 1999-present logo. Logo: NBA Properties, via Wikipedia
For the 1999-2000 season the Heat redrew the logo along with their uniforms. The shape stayed the same and the colors changed. The ball turned dark red with black seams, the rim went from black to white with a black outline, and the flames became yellow and orange tips at the top instead of a ball made of fire. The orange that defined the 1990s look disappeared from the logo, and yellow took its place as the accent color.
That logo has now been the Heat's primary mark for 28 seasons, through all three championships. It has never had a second redesign.
The HEAT Wordmark
Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The other mark worth knowing is the HEAT wordmark, with a flame coming off the top of the T. It goes across the chest of the white jersey, and the Heat's mid-1990s throwbacks used the original "flaming T" version.
Miami Heat Jersey History
1988-1999: The Original Uniforms
The first Heat uniforms had striping on one side only, down the right side of the jersey and shorts. The home uniform was white with lettering in red, black and orange, and the road uniform was black with red, white and orange trim. The numbers used the same font as the Los Angeles Lakers. The flaming ball logo sat on the left leg of the shorts.
In 1995-96 the Heat added a red alternate, with black, white and orange trim. That was the first season of the Pat Riley era, and Riley's arrival is also where the team dates "HEAT Culture," the phrase that later went on a City Edition jersey. The original set lasted through 1998-99.
We could not find a freely licensed game photo of the original uniforms, so this era is shown in the logo above. The Heat have brought these uniforms back several times, covered under throwbacks below.
1999-Present: The Modern Uniforms
The uniforms the Heat wear today date to 1999-2000. The changes from the original set: striping on both sides, yellow trim in place of orange, new lettering, block numbers, a V-neck and the updated logo on the shorts. The white home jersey says HEAT, and the black road jersey said HEAT too until 2012.
The red alternate with MIAMI across the chest arrived in 2001-02, in white letters with black trim.
Alonzo Mourning in the red alternate, Feb. 28, 2007. Photo: Keith Allison / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2006: The First Championship
This is the set Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal wore when the Heat won their first title in June 2006: white HEAT at home, black HEAT on the road, red MIAMI as the alternate. The Heat's playoff campaign that spring was "White Hot," and the team has tied that theme to both the 2006 and 2012 titles.
Wade and O'Neal in the black road uniform during the 2005-06 title season, Dec. 14, 2005. Photos: Jeramey Jannene and Jeramey Jannene / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2010-2014: The Big Three Years
LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Wade in 2010, and the uniforms stayed the same. For their first two seasons together, the black road jersey still said HEAT.
Wade (Dec. 18, 2010) and LeBron James (March 30, 2011) in the black HEAT road jersey. Photos: Keith Allison and Keith Allison / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The one real change came in 2012-13, the season after the Heat's second title. The team announced that its primary road uniform would read "Miami" instead of "HEAT," so the home jersey says HEAT and the road jersey says MIAMI. That is the rule the Heat still follow. The black MIAMI jersey is what the team wore on the road during the 2013 title season.
Wade in the black road jersey after it switched to MIAMI, Dec. 20, 2012. Photo: scott mecum / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
That same 2012-13 season was the 25th anniversary, and the Heat rolled out a pile of specials: a white uniform with gold trim and a Larry O'Brien Trophy for the ring ceremony, an all-white "White Hot" uniform, an all-red "Big Color" uniform for Christmas Day against the Thunder, a red throwback to the mid-1990s and a black "EL HEAT" uniform for Noche Latina.
2017-Present: Association, Icon and Statement
When Nike took over NBA uniforms in 2017-18, the league dropped "home" and "road." The Heat's white uniform became the Association Edition, the black became the Icon Edition and the red became the Statement Edition. The designs carried over from the 1999 set, and any of the three can be worn home or away. The white still says HEAT, and the black and red say MIAMI.
Association (Kelly Olynyk, March 12, 2018) and Icon (Bam Adebayo, March 8, 2020). Photos: Frenchieinportland / CC BY-SA 4.0 and Joe Glorioso / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The red Statement Edition at Washington, Oct. 18, 2018. Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The white Association uniform on the road at Oklahoma City, March 8, 2024. Photo: HutchDoesStuff / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Throwbacks and Classic Editions
- Floridians (2005-06 and 2011-12): The Heat wore tribute uniforms for the Floridians, Miami's ABA team from 1968 to 1972. The road version came first, in the 2006 title season, and the home version followed in 2011-12.
- Original white (2007-08): Back for the 20th anniversary season, and again in 2015-16.
- Original red (2012-13): A red mid-1990s throwback with chunky numbers, a big drop shadow and the original flaming T, worn for the 25th anniversary.
- Original black (2013-14 and 2017-18): The black 1988-99 uniform returned as a throwback in 2013-14, then as the Heat's Nike Classic Edition in 2017-18.
- Original white Classic (2022-23): The 1988 white uniform came back as a Classic Edition for the team's 35th season.
Miami Heat City Edition History
The City Edition is where the Heat became the most talked-about uniform team in the NBA. Nearly all of it traces back to one idea in 2017.
Vice (2017-18)
The first Heat City Edition was white with pink, light blue and black trim, a nod to the 1980s TV show Miami Vice and the Miami the team was born into in 1988. The "Miami" script was inspired by the logo of the Miami Arena, the Heat's first home. The team unveiled it in January 2018. The Heat later told Andscape they made only about 30,000 of the white jerseys.
Vice Nights and Sunset Vice (2018-19)
The sequel was Vice Nights, black with the 1988 HEAT look done in laser fuchsia and "blue gale." The Heat produced about 75,000 of them, and the team calls it the best-selling team City Edition uniform in NBA history.
The same season the Heat added Sunset Vice, a pink Earned Edition jersey given only to teams that made the 2018 playoffs. It was revealed on December 12, 2018 and worn on December 26, 28 and 30.
ViceWave (2019-20)
ViceWave went light blue with pink numbers and trim. The Heat unveiled it on November 25, 2019, and the team's creative department designed it in-house.
ViceVersa and Trophy Gold (2020-21)
ViceVersa, unveiled December 1, 2020, was billed as the final Vice uniform. It used a pink-to-blue gradient across the jersey, combining the colors of the earlier versions.
That season also brought the Trophy Gold Earned Edition, unveiled in March 2021 for making the 2020 playoffs. It was the first Heat uniform with yellow as the base color, with black letters and no red at all. Fan reaction was mostly negative.
By January 2025, the team said it had sold nearly 230,000 Vice jerseys since 2018.
Miami Mashup Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (2021-2023)
The Heat followed Vice with Miami Mashup in 2021-22, a black uniform that mixed pieces of five different uniforms from team history, including the Floridians and Vice. Players picked their own number styles, and fans could choose from more than 5,000 combinations.
Miami Mashup Vol. 2 in 2022-23 kept the design and switched the base to white. It added four more number styles (ViceVersa, Floridians Home, Association and White Hot), which pushed the possible combinations to 12,656.
HEAT Culture (2023-2025)
The 2023-24 City Edition put the team's motto on the chest: HEAT Culture, on a black base, with "HEAT" in red and "CULTURE" in gray. The numbers were based on the 1988-99 uniforms. The Heat call HEAT Culture the standard Pat Riley set in 1995. Jaime Jaquez Jr. wore a version reading "EL HEAT CULTURA" in the 2024 Slam Dunk Contest.
For 2024-25 the Heat flipped it to red, which the NBA called "Blood Red." Fan reaction to both was mixed. In January 2025, the Heat brought back the original white Vice for the rest of the season, starting January 17 against the Nuggets, in place of the regular white Association uniform.
Vice Nights Returns (2025-26)
Last season the Heat made the black Vice Nights their City Edition again, announced November 8, 2025 and first worn November 12 against Cleveland. It was scheduled for 23 games. The only change from 2018 was a patch for the 20th anniversary of the 2006 championship.
Vice City (2026-27)
The newest Heat uniform is the one-night Vice City jersey for "A Night in Vice City" on November 18, 2026 against the Bucks, the day before GTA VI comes out. It is black with neon pink trim, a backwards Nike logo for Travis Scott and six pink stars on the shorts. The players wear a version that says HEAT, and the "Vice City" script version is for fans. Every detail is in our Vice City jersey breakdown.
The 2026-27 City Edition is a separate uniform. It debuts January 17 against the Warriors and is scheduled for 18 games. Every date is in the Miami Heat 2026-27 uniform schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Miami Heat change their logo?
Once, for the 1999-2000 season. The original 1988 logo had an orange flaming ball and a black hoop. The 1999 version kept the same shape with a dark red ball, a white hoop and yellow flames, and it is still the primary logo today.
Who designed the Miami Heat logo?
Miami artist Mark Henderson, a graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. The team picked his design in March 1988, before its first season.
What are the Miami Heat's colors?
Black, red and yellow. The red is a dark shade (#98002E) and the yellow is a warm gold (#F9A01B). The original 1988-99 uniforms used orange where the current ones use yellow. White is also a big part of the brand through the "White Hot" playoff theme.
Why does the Heat jersey say MIAMI sometimes and HEAT other times?
Since 2012-13, the white jersey says HEAT and the black and red jerseys say MIAMI. Before that, the black road jersey said HEAT too.
What jersey did Dwyane Wade wear in 2006?
The 1999-era set: white HEAT at home, black HEAT on the road and the red MIAMI alternate. That season the Heat also wore Floridians throwbacks to honor Miami's old ABA team.
What jersey did LeBron James wear with the Heat?
The same 1999-era set. From 2010 to 2012 that meant white HEAT at home and black HEAT on the road. For the 2012-13 title season, the road jersey switched to black with MIAMI, and that season also had the all-white "White Hot" uniform and the all-red "Big Color" uniform on Christmas Day.
What is the Miami Heat Vice jersey?
The Heat's City Edition series from 2017-18 to 2020-21, inspired by the 1980s show Miami Vice: white Vice, black Vice Nights, pink Sunset Vice, light blue ViceWave and the gradient ViceVersa. The white returned in January 2025, and Vice Nights came back as the 2025-26 City Edition.
What is the best-selling Heat City Edition?
Vice Nights. The Heat say it is the best-selling team City Edition uniform in NBA history.
Did the Heat ever wear a yellow jersey?
Yes, once: the Trophy Gold Earned Edition in 2021, for making the 2020 playoffs. It was the first time yellow was the base color of a Heat uniform.
What is the Heat Vice City jersey?
A one-night uniform for November 18, 2026 against the Bucks, made by Nike with Travis Scott's Cactus Jack and Rockstar Games for the release of GTA VI. The players wear a black HEAT version, and fans can buy a version with "Vice City" in pink script.
What is the Heat City Edition for 2026-27?
The Heat's regular 2026-27 City Edition debuts January 17 against the Warriors and is on the schedule for 18 games. The Vice City uniform is a separate, one-night look.
