At the start of the 2023 postseason, you could probably count the amount of people outside of Florida on one hand who thought the No. 8 seeded Miami Heat and second wild-card Florida Panthers would both be in their respective conference finals in the middle of May.

But that's exactly what's happened, with playoff Jimmy Butler leading the way for the Heat and a heavy hitting, fast style leading the way for the underdog Panthers.

Miami already has a 1-0 lead on the Boston Celtics as they try to complete their third upset in a row after knocking off the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks. Florida beat the best regular season team in NHL history in the Boston Bruins, and followed it up by easily dispatching the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov says he's a “huge fan” of the Heat, and the praise goes both ways; Miami center Bam Adebayo called Barkov his favorite Florida player.

“I try to follow them as much as possible and I know that every year they have a good group that can go all the way,” Barkov said. “I'm really happy for them and I really hope they're going to make the Finals too.”

The Panthers boarded a flight to Carolina ahead of their series against the Hurricanes on Wednesday, and the team were wearing Heat T-shirts — similar to the ones worn during Heat “white out” home games — in support of their NBA brethren.

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Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra along with stars Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love in front of the Kaseya Center.

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Sam Bennett in image looking stern, first aid kit, FLA Panthers logo, hockey rink in background

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Carter Verhaeghe in middle of image looking happy with fire around him, Maurice Richard and Joe Sakic on either side, FLA Panthers logo, hockey rink in background

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It really is great to see two No. 8 seeds from the same city showing support for one another as they look to advance to the championship in their respective sports.

They also both made history, advancing to their respective conference finals on the same day, something that hadn't been accomplished before by two teams from the same metropolitan area.

“We're both gonna try to do our half,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said when asked about the improbable run of his Panthers and the Miami Heat. “Wouldn't it be unbelievable in two weeks if we were both still playing? Craziness in this town, right?”