1990–91 Miami Heat season

The 1990–91 Miami Heat season was the third season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association. The Heat received the ninth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected small forward Willie Burton from the University of Minnesota, and also selected shooting guard Dave Jamerson from the University of Ohio with the 15th overall pick. The Heat originally had the third overall pick in the draft, after finishing with an 18–64 record the previous season, but traded it to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the ninth, and 15th picks.

On draft day, the Heat made two separate trades; the team traded Jamerson and second-round draft pick, Carl Herrera from the University of Houston, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for rookie center Alec Kessler from the University of Georgia, and also traded veteran point guard Rory Sparrow to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for rookie point guard Bimbo Coles out of Virginia Tech. During the off-season, the team signed undrafted rookie small forward Keith Askins.

With the addition of Burton, the Heat got off to a semi-promising 5–9 start to the regular season, but then continued to struggle by posting a 10-game losing streak in December. The team lost six straight games at the end of January, and later on held a 13–34 record at the All-Star break. The Heat posted an eight-game losing streak in March, lost 17 of their final 21 games of the season, and finished in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 24–58 record, which was a six-game improvement over the previous season.

Second-year guard Sherman Douglas averaged 18.5 points, 8.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while second-year forward Glen Rice averaged 17.4 points and 1.3 steals per game, and last season's Most Improved Player Rony Seikaly provided the team with 16.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. In addition, Kevin Edwards provided with 12.1 points and 1.6 steals per game, while Burton contributed 12.0 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Grant Long averaged 9.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Meanwhile, Billy Thompson contributed 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Kessler averaged 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, second-year forward Terry Davis provided with 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and Coles contributed 4.9 points and 2.8 assists per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rice participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout. The Heat finished 15th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 615,328 at the Miami Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Thompson was released to free agency, and head coach Ron Rothstein resigned after three seasons with the franchise.