Top 10 Miami Heat

Courtesy of Bing

In the history of the franchise, the Heat has had some of the highest profile players in the NBA and racked up three championships.  Still, my favorite memory of the Heat is Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy hanging on to Alonzo Mourning’s leg and being drug across the floor during a Knicks-Heat brawl.  Van Gundy gave new meaning to the term, “low post”.  As for the top 10 Heat, here are my picks:

10: Goran Dragic.  Dragic is a guy who does everything well.  He can play as a one or two guard.  He’s in his fifth season with the Heat and is scoring at a 17.2 ppg clip.  He’s also averaging 5.4 assists and three rebounds per game.  Overall he’s hit .468 of his shots, and more than half of his two pointers.  From beyond the arc he’s at .363 during his time with the Heat.  Goran is good though not spectacular and settles in at the tenth slot on this list.

9: Udonis Haslem.  So, how does a guy who averaged only 7.7 ppg make this list?  He plays for the team for 16 years and helps them win.  While Haslem’s stats look average, he played tough defense and filled whatever role was need to help the Heat win.  Haslem was a member of all three Heat championships.  Udonis picked off 6.8 rebounds per game and is other stats are mediocre.  What isn’t average is the three champions he helped the Heat win.

8: Chris Bosh.  Chris Bosh was the third of the Heat’s Three Musketeers, behind Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.  Bosh had to adjust his game to accommodate his teammates and did that to the point of helping the team win championships in 2012 and 2013.  Bosh scored at a rate of 18 points a game and collected 7.8 rebounds a game to go with 1.8 assists.  Bosh was a six time all star with the Heat He also hit nearly .500 from the field to go with .805 from the line.  While Bosh’s stats weren’t as impressive with the Heat as they were with the Raptors, they were still pretty good.

7:  Rony Seikaly.  From the late 80s to the mid 90s the Seikaly provided the Heat with solid play at center.  He was good for about 16 points and 11-12 rebounds per game.  Seikaly doesn’t have a lot of awards marking his NBA career, but was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 1989-90 season.  Seikaly was just a good center who toiled for the Heat before their glory days.

6: Tim Hardaway.  After starting his career with the Warriors Hardaway came over in a trade to the Heat during the 1994-95 season and went on to have six good seasons with the Heat.  Tim averaged 17.2 ppg while doling out 7.8 assists.  He was a two time all star while in Miami.  Hardaway was a pest on defense, coming up with 2.2 steals a game.  Hardaway, like Bosh, had his best days before he got to Miami, but still had game by the time he got to the Heat.

5:  Glen Rice.  Glen Rice had one particularly outstanding skill; he could really shoot the ball.  His three pointer skills in particular stood out.  Rice shot .386 from beyond the three point line in his six seasons in Miami.  That contributed to his scoring average of 19.3 ppg with the Heat. Rice was also an excellent free throw shooter, converting at a rate of .835.   Rice had three seasons with the Heat wherein he scored 21+ points a game.  Rice was one of the best shooters in Heat, and NBA history for that matter.

4:  Shaquille O’Neil.  Shaq, like some other guys on this list, had his best days before he got to Miami but will still a powerful force by the time he got to the Heat.  In 3+ seasons with the Heat Shaq averaged 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.  O’Neil was obviously a huge force as an inside scorer, hitting .596 from the field.  During his career, Shaq was a notoriously poor free throw shooter.  He bottomed out with the Heat, hitting at a .460 clip.  With a player like Shaq, that’s splitting hairs.  Look for Shag on a couple of other lists.

3:  Alonzo Mourning.  In all, Alonzo played 11 seasons with the Heat.  He actually had two stints in Miami.  Started his career in Miami with the Heat in the 1992-92 season had played there through the 2001-02 campaign.  Mourning then dealt with a kidney issue and played from the 2004-05 season, winding his career down after 2007-08 season.  Before health issues slowed him down, Mourning was good for about 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks a game. Alonzo led the NBA in blocks for the 198-99 season has well in 1999-00.  He maxed out with 3.9 blocks per game during the 1998-99 season.  Mourning also finished second in the NBA’s MVP voting for that year.  He was named to the league’s All Defensive ream three times while in Miami.  Mourning was a seven time all star with the Heat.  In looking back at Mourning’s stats, I had forgotten just how good he was.

2:  Lebron James.  Lebron’s quest for a ring led him to Miami.  While the TV program, “The Decision”, was overblown and probably a lowlight of Lebron’s career his run with the Heat did net him two championships. James’ is the greatest player to ever play for the Heat, though he’s not number one in this list for reasons that will be discussed later.  While with the Heat Lebron was the league’s MVP twice.  His slash line with the Heat was 26.9 ppg, 6.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists. He’s also an excellent defender.  I could go on with stats, but the fact many consider him the greatest to ever play the game says it all.

1:  Dwyane Wade.  While Wade wasn’t the player James is, he gets bonus points for his recruiting ability and longevity.  Wade was able to get James and Bosh down to Miami where the trio was able to glom on to a couple of rings.  Of course, Dwyane had some cred before he recruited by virtue of his own greatness and the fact he led the Heat to a championship in 2006.  That was the finals where Wade got to the line 97 times in six games.  For his 15 games in Miami, Dwyane has averaged 23.3 ppg.  At his peak he was good for 25-30, leading the NBA in scoring in 2008-09 season.  He also is averaging 5.5 assists.  As would be expected DWade has appeared in 12 all star games.  Future hall of fames, Dwyane Wade is the greatest member of the Miami Heat of all time.