The Heat Will Retire Their Iconic ‘Miami Vice’ Uniforms

Some of the best uniforms in the NBA are going away. According to Aaron Dodson of The Undefeated, the Miami Heat will retire their iconic Vice uniforms, which have existed in some form or fashion as the club’s City Edition threads since the 2017-18 season and have consistently been among Nike’s top sellers.

Miami’s last home game of the regular season Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers marks the end of this storied uniform era. The Heat will suit up in Vice jerseys for what may be the final time as the team prepares to head in a different direction with its uniforms in this year’s playoffs and next season.

The Heat decided to use their Twitter account to celebrate the unis in the lead-up to Thursday night’s game.

Miami’s done four versions of these kits — the first were a sleek black look, followed by fuchsia, blue, and then the gradient look that has become a staple this season. It’s unclear if they will come back at any time in the future, or if the team will ever try to sell Vice-inspired merch going forward, but according to chief marketing officer Michael McCullough, the team is open to anything, even making it the team’s permanent colors if the situation is absolutely correct.

“A ton of people keep asking us, ‘Why don’t you just make Vice the Heat’s permanent colors?’ ” McCullough told The Undefeated. “And I’m not gonna say we don’t have those conversations internally, because we do. And will we continue to have those conversations? Absolutely. … But that’s a big decision, right? You’re talking about the total identity of a brand. There’s an over 30-year history with this team and there’s a lot of equity in red, black and white. We won our first championship in red. That red uniform here has a lore. That’s a long-term decision that we have to make, and you don’t want to make it just because you’ve had a lot of success with this run of uniforms. Having said that, it’s not out of the question though.”