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The Miami Heat have been one of the best teams in the NBA in recent history.
They were one of the expansion teams and were founded in 1988 and after a period of mediocrity, the Heat would gain relevance during the 1990s.
Miami Heat has won a total of 3 championships, in 2006, 2012 and 2013. They are the first to bring in the concept of “superteams” with the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
A lot of Hall of Famers and All-Stars have played for the Miami Heat in their short history, from Alonzo Mourning to Shaquille O’Neal, to Gary Payton and Lamar Odom. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and find out the best Miami Heat players since 2000.
#5. Hassan Whiteside (2014-present)
Miami Heat have had a great knack of finding players that are discarded by other franchises in the early part of their career. Whiteside was the 33rd overall pick and a second-round draft pick of the Sacramento Kings in 2010.
He only played in 19 NBA games over 2 seasons in Sacramento. He didn’t play in the NBA at all for the next 2 seasons, as he was moving from team to team in the D League as well as Lebanon and China.
After impressing for the Jiangsu Tongxi, he played in the summer league for the Toronto Raptors and the preseason with the Memphis Grizzlies. He did not play a single game for the Grizzlies and ended up signing for the Miami Heat in 2014.
The Center played some impressive games for the Miami Heat over the course of 2 seasons and was awarded a 4 year 98 million deal in 2016. He slowly improved and is now one of the key players in the Miami Heat team, leading them to 2 postseason runs.
He is averaging 13.5 points per game along with 11.5 rebounds per game as well. He is an excellent rim protector and has 2.4 blocks per game too.
Whiteside suffered through some nagging injuries throughout his career and since he is a part of the Heat till 2020 as a key piece and the future of the franchise, he has to perform to the standards others have set for him.
#4. Shaquille O'Neal (2004-2008)
Miami Heat had a chance to grab Shaq from the Los Angeles Lakers after his dispute with star Kobe Bryant was public knowledge and Miami left no stone unturned, swooping in for the big man and trading Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a first-round draft pick.
He’d already been named to 11 All-Star teams in 12 years in the NBA with the Lakers and the Orlando Magic before that. In his first season with the Heat, Shaq switched back to his #32 jersey and averaged 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, leading the franchise to 59 wins that season.
He, along with a young Wade reached the playoff finals, losing out narrowly to the Detroit Pistons in Game 7. In the 2005-06 season, Shaq signed a 5 year $100 million deal with the Heat. He continued to be his dominant self but was dealing with injuries as well as a change in the coaching staff, as he and Pat Riley did not get along much.
Even though Shaq was averaging career lows in points, rebounds and blocks, he was committed to the Heats, which led to them going on a stunning run to secure the franchise's first ever NBA title in 2005-06, winning the finals against a highly rated Dallas Mavericks team.
The next 2 seasons were marred by injuries and off the court spats with the head coach which resulted in him being traded in 2008 to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. He played some really good basketball for the Heat and led them to a title in his time there, which gets him the 4th spot.
#3. Chris Bosh (2010-2016)
One of the most underrated stars, Chris Bosh was a part of the Big 3 with the Miami Heat, moving in a contract season from the Toronto Raptors, which had drafted him as the 4th pick in the 2003 draft.
Instead of being a part of a team with him as the only star, he joined Wade and LeBron as a part of the big 3 who could go on to win titles. His career averages dropped since he moved from the Raptors, going from averaging 24 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in the 2009-10 season to averaging 18.7 points and 8 rebounds during his first season with the Heat.
Bosh would go on to win 2 NBA championships and also become a 6-time All-Star while he played for the Miami Heat. He was a juggernaut on the offensive end, with his pick and pop game unstoppable.
His defensive prowess too was unmatched as he was always giving it his best. He was one of the most versatile players in his time with the Heat and gave outstanding effort on both ends of the floor.
Bosh was forced to retire in 2016 after a serious blood clotting issue deemed by the NBA as career ending affected him. Nonetheless, his contributions to the Miami Heat franchise will always keep him a fan favourite.
#2. LeBron James (2010-2014)
LeBron James had decided to move on from Cleveland as the franchise had failed to surround him with players capable of winning a title. So in 2010, LeBron went to join the Miami Heat so as to team up with other stars to go win an elusive NBA title.
He joined Bosh and Wade, forming the first ever "superteam". In the 4 years he spent at Miami, LeBron averaged 27 points per game, along with 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists as well. They reached the NBA finals in the 2010-11 season, only to lose out to the Dallas Mavericks in a 6 game series.
LeBron then decided to take matters into his own hands after the humbling defeat that was delivered upon them by the Mavericks. He ended up winning the MVP in the 2011-12 season and won his first ever NBA title with the Miami Heat and the NBA finals MVP, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games.
He then went on to lead the Heat to a consecutive NBA titles in 2012-13, winning a back to back MVP, NBA finals MVP and NBA championship, beating the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games. He made it to the East All-Stars with the Miami Heat in all 4 seasons.
Even though he averaged over 30 points a game in his 2 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron learned to share with a team that had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and led them to 4 straight NBA finals appearances and 2 NBA championships. There is no doubt about the impact he had in just 4 years on the franchise and he takes the #2 spot.
#1. Dwyane Wade (2003-2016, 2018-present)
Dwyane Wade takes the #1 spot because frankly, there was been no better player for the Miami Heat than Dwyane Wade. He has been there from the beginning of his career, drafted 5th in the 2003 NBA draft, he became a 3-time NBA champion, a 13-time All-Star, an NBA finals MVP in 2006, a 2-time All NBA first team player and the NBA scoring title in 2008-09 among other honours.
He is a Heat legend through and through. In the 14 seasons with the Miami Heat, Wade has averaged 23.4 points a game, along with 5.7 assists as well. LeBron has been a better player throughout his career but Wade has been with the Heat throughout, except for the time when Wade was forced out of the Heat by the front office and spent 2 years elsewhere before returning in 2018.
His contributions to the Miami Heat franchise have been something out of a fairytale. He will be retiring at the end of this season but this future Hall of Famer is easily the best player that has played for Miami Heat since 2000.
Guess the Lakers players!
