Anchorage's Mario Chalmers is staying with the Miami Heat.
Chalmers on Sunday tweeted that he will continue to the play for the Heat, extending a relationship that began six years ago when Chalmers was an NBA rookie. Last season marked the end of a three-year, $12 million contract, making Chalmers a free agent.
"Proud to say I'm back wit the heat. Heat nation we still here," Chalmers tweeted.
Chalmers, the only Alaskan to win an NBA championship, has been Miami's starting point guard for the last three seasons, although subpar play cost him his spot in the starting lineup for Game 5 of this year's NBA Finals.
Chalmers won NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 and has played in four straight Finals with the Heat; this season, the Heat lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs.
A fifth straight trip to the Finals will be a challenge for Chalmers and his teammates -- days before the Heat and Chalmers agreed to a deal, LeBron James decided to leave Miami for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chalmers, a three-time Player of the Year for Bartlett High who was a second-round draft pick out of Kansas, finished last season with averages of 9.8 points and 4.9 assists.
His return, along with the re-signing of Chris Bosh and the expected return of Dwayne Wade, could give the Heat a certain measure of continuity in the post-LeBron era.
Contact Beth Bragg at bbragg@adn.com.