Miami Heat: The 25 Greatest Players in Franchise History

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9. Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones of the Miami Heat

Eddie Jones was the leading man during the Heat’s “down period.”

Jones was brought in by Riley to add another impact player to a team burdened with championship expectations. After the Heat were eliminated in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs by the New York Knicks for the third time in four tries, Jones was acquired through trade with Riley jettisoning P.J. Brown and Jamal Mashburn to the Charlotte Hornets.

Despite finishing with the third-best record during the 2001 season, the Heat were ironically eliminated by the sixth-seeded Hornets in the first round of the playoffs. The veteran shooting guard averaged 17.4 points per game in his first season in Miami.

Due to Mourning’s kidney disease and Hardaway’s deteriorating play, Miami would falter and miss the playoffs over the course of the next two seasons.

Jones stuck around until 2005, before making his return with the franchise during the 2006-07 season.

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D.J. Siddiqi grew up in the heart of South Florida in Broward County. Growing up in South Florida during the late 90's and 2000's, D.J. witnessed the Pat Riley years where the Miami Heat faced off with the New York Knicks all the way to the painful late 2000's seasons where the Heat were a one-man team with Dwyane Wade. D.J. has closely followed the Heat over the past decade-and-a-half, and unfortunately witnessed Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals in person when the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit to knock off the Heat. D.J. has writing experience as a columnist with sites such as Bleacher Report and Rant Sports, and he is proud to bring his knowledge of the Heat and the NBA to Heat Nation.