The 2014–15 Miami Heat season was the 27th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the first time since 2010, LeBron James was not on the roster as he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat entered the 2014–15 season as the four-time defending Eastern Conference champion without LeBron, and were coming off of an NBA Finals loss in five games to the San Antonio Spurs. Although they remained in playoff contention until early April, the Heat were eliminated from playoff contention after their game 80 loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Heat failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008 after a four-year trip to the Finals, winning two in 2012 and 2013, and the first team since the 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers and last until the 2018–19 Cleveland