Bernard King was a star NBA player for 16 years, playing with the New York Knicks at the time this episode aired.
From 1968-72, Miami was home to the Floridians of the American Basketball Association (most famous for their scantily-clad "ballgirls"). Two years after this episode, Miami would have their own NBA team, the Heat (which barely beat out Miami Vice as the team's name in a fan survey), who as of the 2018-2019 season, have won 13 division titles, five Eastern Conference titles, and three NBA championships (including two consecutive in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013). The 2010-2014 version of the team (with NBA superstars LeBron James - who appeared in a shoe commercial with Don Johnson in his Sonny Crockett persona - Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) is often referred to as "Miami Thrice". The team has had special uniforms (in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons) that pay homage to the series with a color scheme of pink, light blue, and black, and are among the most popular uniforms in the NBA.
This was the first episode not to receive a rerun on NBC (and the only one from the first two seasons).
The University of Miami reinstated basketball at the school starting with the 1985-86 season after a 14 year hiatus.