MIAMI — Miami Heat owner Micky Arison doesn’t make many public speeches. He prefers to remain in the background and keep the spotlight off himself.

But Arison couldn’t avoid the spotlight or a speech in front of a large audience this time, as he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class on Saturday night at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass. Arison, 76, was selected for the Hall of Fame by the Contributors Committee.

“The Hall is the highest honor in basketball, but it’s not something I ever sought,” Arison said at the start of his 10-minute induction speech on Saturday.

Arison is the 11th person with Heat ties to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Billy Cunningham (1986), Bob McAdoo (2000), Pat Riley (2008), Gary Payton (2013), Alonzo Mourning (2014), Shaquille O’Neal (2016), Ray Allen (2018), Chris Bosh (2021), Tim Hardaway (2022) and Dwyane Wade (2023).

Arison, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year as a finalist, was joined on stage by Riley, Mourning and Wade. As the presenters Arison selected for this moment, Riley, Mourning and Wade did not have speaking roles but were alongside Arison during his induction speech.

With Arison using his speech on Saturday to chronicle the Heat’s story, it didn’t take him long to praise each of his three Hall of Fame presenters.

“Pat is one of a kind,” Arison said. “He and his wife Chris have become great friends. We’ve been through highs, we’ve been through lows and he’s still an unstoppable force. Pat, we boarded the Carnival Imagination for your introductory press conference in 1995 and you talked about a parade down Biscayne Boulevard. We’ve now had three of those championship parades and have been a Hall of Fame organization ever since. There’s no way I’m standing here tonight without you.”

Of Mourning, Arison said: “Zo became the foundation of Heat culture. Zo, your work ethic, your toughness became the blueprint for everything we wanted to be. No NBA team has made more playoff appearances than the Miami Heat since Zo arrived in Miami 30 years ago. Zo’s impact has extended beyond the court and he has become a pillar in the South Florida community.” Arison then called Wade “the greatest player in Miami Heat history.”

“Dwyane, thank you for the three rings and for giving us so many unforgettable moments,” Arison added. “No matter where life takes you, you’ll always be Heat family.”

Arison took control of the Heat in 1995, helping to build an organization that’s considered one of the NBA’s most successful franchises during over that 30-year stretch. One of the first things Arison did after becoming the Heat’s owner was hire Riley in September 1995, which ended up turning into one of Arison’s top basketball accomplishments.

“Our plan was simple. Do right by South Florida and build a winner,” Arison said during his speech. “The first thing I did was join forces with Pat Riley. A proven winner, a champion and one of the greatest winners in NBA history.”

With Arison and Riley at the helm over the last 30 years, the Heat has won three NBA championships (2006, 2012, 2013). The Heat has also made seven NBA Finals appearances, made 10 Eastern Conference finals appearances, won 16 division titles and advanced to the playoffs 23 times.

Only the Los Angeles Lakers (six NBA championships), San Antonio Spurs (five) and Golden State Warriors (four) have won more NBA titles than the Heat over the last 30 years.

Prior to Arison and Riley taking over, the Heat didn’t win a playoff series through its first seven seasons of existence.

“This may be an individual award, but it’s the result of our team’s success,” Arison continued. “Over the last 30 years, we’ve won three championships, we’ve made 10 Eastern Conference finals, seven trips to the NBA Finals. Only two teams have won more games in that time. Not bad for one of the youngest franchises in the league.”

With Arison as owner, the Heat has made aggressive moves to acquire stars like Mourning, Hardaway, O’Neal, LeBron James, Bosh, Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler through trades or free agency over the years.

Arison’s resume also includes a three-year term as the chairman of the NBA Board of Governors that began in October 2005 and his family has been involved with the organization since his father Ted Arison brought the franchise to the NBA in 1988. Arison’s son, Nick Arison, has served as the Heat’s Chief Executive Officer since July 2011.

Under Arison’s leadership, the Heat also earned the NBA’s 2021 Sales & amp; Marketing Team of the Year award. In November 2020, Arison was named to the board of the NBA’s Social Justice Coalition that focuses on action and change around voting access and criminal justice reform at the national, state and local levels. In 2018, the Heat captured the NBA’s inaugural Inclusion Leadership Award for the franchise’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The Arison family has supported a variety of arts-related and community service organizations around South Florida. Organizations supported by the Arison family include World Central Kitchen, Wounded Warriors, ICA Miami, Miami Children’s Museum, Jackson Memorial Foundation, Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Project Medishare for Haiti, Direct Relief, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Miami, United Way of Miami Dade, Chapman Partnership, Lotus House, Overtown Youth Center, Feeding South Florida, among others.

Away from basketball, Arison has helped lead Carnival Corporation for more than three decades. He’s currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc.

“A good team’s governor’s job is to make sure the team has everything it needs, but it’s never about us,” said Arison, who declined most interview requests ahead of his Hall of Fame enshrinement. “It’s about the coaches, it’s about the players. I firmly believe team owners should rarely be heard from. So I’ve already spoken too long.”

Among those in attendance Saturday for Arison’s Hall of Fame induction in Springfield were Wade, Riley, Mourning, Bosh, James, wife Madeleine Arison, son and Heat CEO Nick Arison, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon, Heat president of business operations Eric Woolworth, retired Heat icon and current Heat vice president of basketball development Udonis Haslem, McAdoo, Heat vice president of team security David Holcombe, and vice president and executive director of the Miami Heat charitable fund Steve Stowe.

As part of his speech, Arison thanked O’Neal, Spoelstra, Heat general manager Andy Eligburg and Heat fans, and highlighted the Big 3 era featuring Bosh, James and Wade.

“Spo, thank you for continuing the championship coaching legacy that Pat started, leading our team and our culture into the future,” Arison said. “… Following a legend is never easy, and I’m not sure anyone has done it better than you, Spo.”

Of Elisburg, Arison said: “Thank you to Andy Elisburg for your dedication and expertise in the salary cap and CBA, and teaching us and converting it to English for us. Your fingerprints are on every banner in the arena.”

Arison also dedicated a segment of his speech to his family.

“The Miami Heat has always been and always will be a family organization,” Arison said. “For my own family, owning the team has created moments nothing else could. Every game, every road trip is an opportunity to spend time together with my kids and grandkids.”

The 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame class, which was unveiled in April, also includes Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Danny Crawford, Billy Donovan and the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s team.

Former Heat players James, Bosh and Wade were members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s team (known as The Redeem Team) that won gold and is now in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Fowles, a WNBA legend, also has Miami ties. The Miami native entered the Hall of Fame after playing her high school basketball at Miami Edison High and Gulliver Prep and then becoming an eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion

“We’ve had many of our own go into the Hall. Pat, Dwyane, Zo, Shaq, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Ray Allen, Gary Payton and Bob McAdoo, and there will be more,” Arison said. “LeBron James, Erik Spoelstra will take their place here, as well, and hopefully many, many more.”

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