The Miami Heat have had a number of great players during the course of their 27 seasons in the NBA.
Though the Heat are a young franchise by professional sports standards, they have managed to win three NBA titles to go along with five NBA Finals appearances. They have been one of the more successful NBA franchises since Pat Riley took over as head coach in 1995, when they made six straight postseason appearances under the leadership of Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.
Due to their 2014 Finals appearance, Miami became just the second Eastern Conference franchise to make four consecutive trips to the Finals.
While the Heat have been struggling during the 2014-15 season, that doesn’t mean they’ve had a shortage of great players suit up in the red and black.
Here are the 25 greatest players in franchise history:
25. Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom’s stay was very short-lived in Miami but it was very memorable.
Odom signed with the Heat during the 2003 offseason. The franchise was coming off of two seasons of missing the postseason with Eddie Jones and Brian Grant leading the franchise.
The veteran power forward posted averages of 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds while leading the Heat to the fourth seed in the playoffs. Miami would defeat the New Orleans Hornets in seven games in the first round before being eliminated by the No. 1 seeded Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Odom is also a memorable figure in Heat history due to his role in bringing Shaquille O’Neal to South Florida. It was Odom who was the key piece in the trade with the Los Angeles Lakers that brought Shaq to South Beach.
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24. Dan Majerle
Dan Majerle was a consistent swingman for the Heat who made his mark during the franchise’s first successful era in the late 90’s.
He played different roles over the years, whether that was coming off of the bench or starting at small forward and shooting guard during his Heat tenure. Known for his ability to shoot the three and play tough defense, “Thunder Dan” averaged 10.8 points per game during the 1996-97 season, when Miami won 61 games.
Majerle will always be a beloved figure in Heat lore due to his role in bringing four straight division titles to South Beach.
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23. Keith Askins
Keith Askins was never a remarkable player for the Heat—his career-high in a single season for the Heat was just 6.1 points per game.
The reason why Askins makes this list is due to his longevity with the franchise. He played nine seasons from 1990-1999 with Miami as an undrafted free agent. After retiring from his playing career, he joined the team as an assistant coach and still remains a part of the organization as director of college and pro scouting.
He ranks fourth all-time in games played in franchise history (486).
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22. Ray Allen
Ray Allen’s tenure with the Heat was short-lived (2012-2014), but boy was it one good short tenure.
Allen signed with the Heat after the “Big Three” won their first championship together in 2012. The three-point specialist was expected to contribute as the fourth option in Miami’s newly-formed “Big Four.” While Allen averaged just 10.3 points per game during his two seasons with the Heat, he is known for the biggest shot in franchise history.
With the Heat trailing the San Antonio Spurs 3-2 in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, the veteran shooting guard hit a game-tying three-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to tie the game at 95-all. The shot ended up sending the game into overtime, where the Heat would prevail, before winning Game 7 to win their second consecutive NBA title.
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21. Voshon Lenard
Voshon Lenard was yet another staple of the Heat’s glory years of the late 90’s under Riley. Lenard would end up playing five seasons in Miami, after having been signed out of the minor-league CBA.
During the 1996-97 season in which the team won 61 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, the shooting guard ranked seventh in the league in three-point shots made and 10th in three-point shooting percentage. His double-pump leaning jump shot versus the Cleveland Cavaliers during a regular season contest remains one of the most memorable game-winners in franchise history.
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20. Kevin Edwards
Kevin Edwards was the team’s second overall draft selection when he was picked 20th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft.
Over the course of his five seasons in Miami, Edwards established himself as a solid scoring shooting guard, as he averaged 12.2 points per game. Edwards was not only a part of the expansion Heat, he also helped lead the franchise to their playoff birth when they were swept by the Chicago Bulls during the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs.
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19. Steve Smith
Despite being best known for his five-year tenure with the Atlanta Hawks where he made it to the All-Star game in 1998 and led the team to playoff appearances in every year of his stay, it was in Miami where Smith first made his name.
Along with Glen Rice and Rony Seikaly, the shooting guard was a part of one of the very first teams in Miami to achieve winning success. In his last full season with the Heat in 1993-94, he averaged 17.3 points per game, led the team to 42 victories and a playoff appearance, and paced the team in scoring during the playoffs with 19.2 points per contest.
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18. Bimbo Coles
The 6’1″ sparkplug of a point guard played a total of seven seasons (1990-1996; 2003-04) in the red and black and averaged 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 462 games with the franchise.
His best season was in 1995-96, when he played and started in 52 games while averaging 12.8 and 5.7 assists per game. Unfortunately for Coles, he was traded in a package deal with the Golden State Warriors which brought Tim Hardaway to Miami in the middle of the season.
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17. P.J. Brown
Yet another gritty piece of the Riley-era Heat, P.J. Brown was a defensive force in the paint during his four seasons with the Heat from 1997 through 2000. He was named to the All-Defensive Second Team twice (1997, 1999). Over the course of his four seasons of work, the power forward appeared in 284 games, averaging 31.2 minutes, 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Brown saw his Heat career end when he was traded during the 2000 offseason to the Charlotte Hornets which brought Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason to Miami.
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16. Sherman Douglas
Sherman Douglas was a second-round draft pick by the Heat in the 1989 Draft who ended up becoming the team’s starting point guard during his first two seasons in Miami.
At just 6-foot and 180 pounds, Douglas was an electrifying scorer. He averaged 16.0 points and 7.9 assists in 159 games and 141 starts for the franchise.
Just five games into the 1991-92 season, the point guard was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brian Shaw.
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15. Jason Williams
Jason Williams was a part of the biggest trade in NBA history (in terms of number of players involved) when he was acquired by the Heat along with James Posey from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Williams previously had a rep of being a troublemaker before making Miami his home, but he didn’t cause any fuss during his three seasons with the Heat.
In desperate need of a true point guard after starting Damon Jones at point during the 2004-05 season, Williams’ stable play during his first season with the Heat netted the franchise an NBA title. He averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 assists per game during that season, including a signature performance versus the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 during the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals, scoring 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting in helping the Heat advance to the NBA Finals.
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14. Brian Grant
Brian Grant is a forgotten man in Heat history due to the time period he spent in the red and black. Grant was acquired before the start of the 2000-01 season in Riley’s “reloading” plan. The Heat had been eliminated in three of the prior four postseasons by the hated rival Knicks, and Riley made an effort to surround the core of Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning with new role players.
Grant, along with Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason, was one of those pieces. Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t work out, as the Heat were eliminated in the first round in the 2001 postseason before missing the next two postseasons altogether.
In spite of this, the undersized power forward/center played both positions as an undersized big man for Miami and was one of the better all-around players in the paint during the early 2000’s. During the 2002-03 season, he ranked fifth in rebounds per game (10.2) and ranked 10th in field goal percentage in that same year.
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13. Mario Chalmers
As annoyed as Heat Nation is by Mario Chalmers a lot of the time, he has two things going for him on this list—longevity and championships.
Believe it or not, ‘Rio has been a member of the Heat since the 2008-09 season. Since his rookie season to the present day, he has started at either of the guard positions and been a starter on two championship-winning teams. He made four Finals appearances as either a member of the starting lineup, or a key player off the bench.
His career averages aren’t amazing by any stretch of the imagination—8.8 points and 3.9 assists per game—but his place in Heat history will always be preserved for his role during the mini-dynasty years of the early 2010’s.
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12. Grant Long
Grant Long started at power forward during the early years of the franchise from 1988 until 1994. Long was a consistent scoring force who held his own on the glass.
Before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks along with Steve Smith, Long held averages of 11.6 points and seven rebounds per game in Miami.
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11. Jamal Mashburn
Jamal Mashburn was yet another piece added by Riley during the Heat’s first glory years in the late 90’s. Acquired by Miami in a midseason trade with the Dallas Mavericks in 1997, Mashburn was the Heat’s third offensive option behind Mourning and Hardaway during his Heat tenure.
He averaged 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest in his three-and-a-half seasons in South Florida before being traded during the 2000 offseason.
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10. Rony Seikaly
The Lebanese-born Seikaly was an all-around beast during the expansion years of the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Having been drafted with the team’s first-ever draft pick at No. 9 during the 1988 NBA Draft, Seikaly played six seasons in the red and black, averaging 15.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The center ranked in the top eight in rebounding on three different occasions, with a career-best 11.8 rebounds per contest in back-to-back seasons during the 1992 and 1993 campaigns.
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9. Eddie Jones
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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8. Udonis Haslem
Udonis Haslem has won three NBA championships and currently stands as the franchise’s all-time leading rebounder with 5,430 total rebounds in his career.
Not bad for a guy who was signed as an undrafted free agent.
Deemed as undersized and too small to play the power forward position, Haslem has been the starter on three NBA championship teams. He started on the 2006 championship squad and was a part of the “Big Three” era of the early 2010’s.
After 12 years, Haslem remains a member of the Heat. Although he plays sporadically and averages just 14 minutes per contest nowadays, his longevity and grittiness lands him a top 10 selection on this list.
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7. Glen Rice
Glen Rice played six seasons with the Heat, and most consider him to be the first “star” in franchise history.
Rice not only proved to be one of the league’s best scorers early on in his career, but he also led the franchise to their first playoff series in 1992, and led them to their first playoff victories in 1994.
Though the small forward never made it to an All-Star game during his six seasons in Miami, he averaged 19.3 points per game and scored 9,248 total points from 1989-1995—the 10th-best total in the NBA during that time frame.
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6. Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh will always be overshadowed by the other “Big Three” members when people discuss the greatest players in franchise history, but that doesn’t negate the fact that Bosh is one of the six greatest players to ever wear a Heat jersey.
Before arriving in Miami in 2010, Bosh was a four-time All-Star who led the Toronto Raptors to two playoff berths and a division title. Despite having to play a lesser role and adjust his playing style more than either of the other members of the “Big Three,” Bosh notched four more All-Star appearances under his belt and won two championships in the process.
Still a member of the Heat to this day as they reload in the post-LeBron era, the veteran center has averaged 17.7 points along with 7.4 rebounds per game during his stint in Miami.
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5. Tim Hardaway
Often forgotten and overshadowed by Mourning, Tim Hardaway was the 1B to Zo’s 1A when the Heat went from expansion team afterthought to becoming the second-best team in the Eastern Conference during the late 90’s.
Hardaway played six seasons in the red and black and made it to three All-Star games to go along with three All-NBA selections. He averaged 17.3 points with 7.8 assists per game in Miami.
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4. Shaquille O’Neal
This is a selection that will be probably met with mixed reaction from Heat Nation, but the bottom line is this—the Big Aristotle was the piece that lifted the Heat from just a playoff team to a championship contender.
Shaq was brought to the Heat during the 2004 offseason after the Lakers decided to keep Kobe Bryant in the purple and gold rather than the 7-foot center. In his first season in Miami, he finished second in MVP voting to Steve Nash while leading the team to 59 victories and was one game away from reaching the NBA Finals.
As Dwyane Wade matured and became the Heat’s go-to option in 2006, Shaq took a back seat and played a willing sidekick role in helping Miami to its first-ever NBA title in 2006.
While his tenure in South Beach ended on a sour note due to an altercation with Riley, which led to a trade involving the Phoenix Suns, O’Neal was a major player in the Heat’s resurgence as an elite team.
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3. Alonzo Mourning
It isn’t far fetched to say that Alonzo Mourning was the franchise’s first true superstar.
While players such as Seikaly, Smith and Rice all made their marks as budding young players with the Heat organization, none of those players stayed around long enough for the franchise to truly excel when it came to winning. That was not the case with ‘Zo.
‘Zo became a member of the Heat when Riley acquired him on November 3, 1995 in a trade with the Hornets. It became the first great major acquisition in franchise history as Mourning proceeded to lead the Heat to four straight division titles and six straight playoff appearances.
Mourning won two straight Defensive Player of the Year awards and was the centerpiece in the Knicks-Heat rivalry that dominated the late 90’s NBA landscape. After spending a year-and-a-half away from the Heat, ‘Zo returned to Miami in 2005 and ended up winning his first and only NBA title during the Heat’s 2006 Finals run.
If it wasn’t for the kidney disease that cut his Heat career short beginning in 2000, Mourning could have been the franchise player that led Miami to their first NBA championship.
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2. LeBron James
While many will disagree with this selection, this is a list of the greatest players in Heat franchise history, not the most beloved players in franchise history.
Mourning is — along with Wade — considered the face of the Heat franchise. LeBron James however, is the best player of his generation. And he cemented that claim during his four seasons in South Beach.
The resume speaks for itself—four NBA Finals appearances, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and two MVP awards during just four years with the Heat.
Though fans will remain bitter towards James for the way he spurned Miami for Cleveland, his mark in his short stay in Miami will never be forgotten.
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1. Dwyane Wade
There really is no other choice for No. 1 other than D3.
So far, he has played 12 seasons in Miami and has been here through the good and the bad. He had arguably the greatest NBA Finals series of all-time when he led the Heat from a 2-0 series deficit to defeat the Dallas Mavericks during the 2006 NBA Finals for the Heat’s first NBA championship.
He was around when Miami suffered their worst season in franchise history just two years after winning the NBA title when they went 15-67 during the 2007-08 season.
He was the 1B to LeBron’s 1A when the Heat made four straight appearances in the Finals from 2011-2014.
Not to mention he leads just about every major statistical category in franchise history.
Wade has certainly made the South Florida region “Wade County” in the new millennium.
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