The Miami Heat came into existence as part of a four-team expansion approved by the NBA in April 1987, an expansion that saw the Heat and the Charlotte Hornets join the league in 1988, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic a year later.
The drive to bring pro basketball back to Miami was led by NBA Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham and former sports agent Lewis Schaffel and was backed by the money of Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison. The old American Basketball Association had a team in Miami, the Miami Floridians (later known as simply “the Floridians,” with no city affiliation) from 1969-72, when the franchise was folded.
The first draft pick in team history was Syracuse center Rony Seikaly, taken ninth overall, and the team’s first pick in the expansion draft was center Arvid Kramer from the Dallas Mavericks, who never played a game for the team. In fact, Kramer hadn’t played an NBA game since March 23, 1980, for the Denver Nuggets and hadn’t played anywhere of note since playing professionally in Germany in 1983. He had been taken by the Mavericks in their expansion draft in 1980 … not an auspicious start for the expansion Heat.
But in some ways, the deal made sense—Dallas wanted to protect young players Uwe Blab, Steve Alford and Bill Wennington, who were all unprotected in the expansion draft, and offered the Heat the rights to Kramer and their first-round pick in the 1988. That pick turned into Kevin Edwards, one of the early standouts for the Heat.
The franchise also came close to having a much, much different name. In a survey to name the team, the Miami Heat narrowly beat out the Miami Vice—yes, the team was nearly named for a 1980s television show.
The Heat made their first playoff appearance in 1992 and have qualified for the postseason in 17 of their 26 seasons. After Ted Arison’s son, Micky Arison, took over as majority owner of the club in 1995, the team twice reached the Eastern Conference Finals, losing in 1997 to the Chicago Bulls and in 2005 to the Detroit Pistons, before breaking through and becoming the first (and still only) member of their group of expansion teams to win an NBA title in 2006.
The Heat made it back to the Finals in 2011 after adding free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh to franchise star Dwyane Wade in the summer of 2010, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks—whom they had beaten to win their title in 2006. The Heat followed that up with back-to-back championships, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012 and repeating in 2013 over the San Antonio Spurs in a seven-game Finals.
So who are the best players by position in the history of the Miami Heat?
NOTE: Players must have appeared in 250 regular-season games with the franchise to be considered for this list.
Small Forward: Glen Rice (1989-95)
Glen Rice helped the Heat transition from expansion doormat to playoff team after he arrived with the fourth overall pick in the 1989 draft out of Michigan.
Rice was an All-Rookie second team selection in 1989-90 and helped the Heat evolve with his long-range shooting. Three times, Rice averaged more than 20 points per game for the Heat. In six seasons in Miami, Rice averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range.
Rice is the third-leading scorer in Heat history with 9,248 points and is also third with 708 3-pointers and 572 steals, fifth with 478 games, seventh with 2,363 rebounds and ninth with 1,067 assists. He is the second most-accurate free-throw shooter in team history at 83.5 percent and ranks fourth at 19.3 points per game.
His 88 percent free-throw shooting in 1993-94 stood as Miami’s single-season record until it was broken in 2012-13 by Ray Allen (88.6 percent).
Rice’s signature game with the Heat came in 1995, when he erupted for 56 points against the Orlando Magic:
On the eve of the season opener in 1995, Rice was traded with Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a 1996 first-round draft pick to the Charlotte Hornets in a blockbuster deal that brought Alonzo Mourning, LeRon Ellis and Pete Myers to Miami.
It’s worth noting that barring some sort of catastrophic injury, this will be Rice’s last season on this list—LeBron James will eclipse the 250-game barrier with the Heat some time in 2013-14.
Apologies to: Keith Askins.
Power Forward: Udonis Haslem (2003-present)
(Flickr.com photo/Keith Allison)
Udonis Haslem was never expected to become a franchise icon in Miami when he signed as an undrafted free agent out of Florida in August 2003.
But in a year in which superstars such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were drafted within the first five picks of the draft, Haslem came out of nowhere to be one of two undrafted free agents named to the 2003-04 All-Rookie team (Marquis Daniels of the Dallas Mavericks was the other). In his 10-year career, Haslem has averaged 8.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor.
Haslem and Wade are the only two players to be part of all three championship teams in Miami and Haslem is the franchise’s career leader in rebounds with 5,157 and games with 669. He also ranks seventh with 5,954 points and ninth with 379 steals. He is eighth in team history with 7.7 rebounds per game and his 49.5 field-goal percentage ranks 10th.
Haslem became Miami’s all-time rebounding leader in November 2012:
Haslem is signed with the Heat through 2013-14 with a player option for 2014-15.
Apologies to: Grant Long, P.J. Brown.
Alonzo Mourning (33) is the Miami Heat’s career leader in blocked shots and was a four-time All-Star with the Heat. (Flickr.com photo/Keith Allison)
Center: Alonzo Mourning (1995-2002, 2005-08)
When the Heat traded franchise star Glen Rice along with Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a 1996 first-round draft pick to the Charlotte Hornets on the eve of the 1995-96 season for Alonzo Mourning, LeRon Ellis and Pete Myers, the hope was that Mourning could be the piece to take Miami to the next level.
While he didn’t win a title in Miami until his second stint with the team in 2006, Mourning did raise the stakes for the Heat. He was the franchise’s first All-Star selection in 1996 and was a four-time All-Star while in Miami. He was a two-time All-NBA pick, as well, earning first-team honors in 1998-99, and he was Defensive Player of the Year in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 after leading the league in blocked shots both years.
Mourning also led the NBA in defensive rating with a 95.3 points per 100 possessions rate in 1996-97 and he topped the league in 2006-07 with a 9.0 block percentage. In parts of 11 seasons with the Heat, Mourning averaged 16 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Mourning is Miami’s franchise leader with 1,625 blocked shots and ranks second with 9,459 points and 4,807 rebounds and third with 593 games. His 2.7 blocked shots per game is also the highest in team history and he is third with his 53.7 field-goal accuracy is third, fifth with 8.1 rebounds per game and ninth with 16 points per game. His 7.0 block percentage is also a franchise best, as is his 35.8 defensive win shares.
Mourning’s 294 blocked shots in 1999-2000 and his 3.9 blocks per game in 1998-99 are single-season club records, as are the 9.0 block percentage in 2006-07 and 5.6 defensive win shares in 1996-97 and 1999-2000.
Here are some of Mourning’s highlights with the Heat:
Mourning signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets in July 2003, but returned to the Heat in March 2005 after he was waived by the Toronto Raptors. He announced his retirement from the Heat in January 2009.
Apologies to: Brian Grant, Rony Seikaly, Joel Anthony.
Dwyane Wade has been part of all three Miami Heat championship teams and was NBA Finals MVP in 2006. (Flickr.com photo/Keith Allison)
Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade (2003-present)
The Miami Heat took Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall pick in one of the most talent-rich drafts in NBA history, the loaded 2003 draft, and it didn’t take long for the former Marquette star to become the face of the franchise.
Wade was named NBA Finals MVP in 2006 after leading the Heat to their first championship, averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals and one block per game in Miami’s six-game victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Wade has been named an All-Star nine times in his 10 years with the Heat and is an eight-time All-NBA selection, including first-team berths in 2008-09 and 2009-10. He is also a three-time All-Defensive team pick and was MVP of the 2010 All-Star Game.
Wade led the NBA in scoring in 2008-09 and in player efficiency rating in 2006-07. In his career, he has averaged 24.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
Wade is the leading scorer in franchise history with 16,453 points and also is the franchise leader with 4,409 assists and 1,183 steals, ranks second with 667 blocks and 665 games and fourth with 3,364 rebounds. He is also the franchise leader with 1.8 steals per game, while his 24.7 points per game is second, his 6.1 assists per game is fourth and his 1.0 blocked shot per game is eighth. He also leads the franchise with 99.9 win shares.
Wade’s 2,386 points, 30.2 points per game, 173 steals and 2.2 steals per game in 2008-09 are all franchise single-season marks.
Here are some of Wade’s highlights from the 2006 NBA Finals:
Wade is signed with Miami through the 2014-15 season with a player option for 2015-16, but does have an early termination option after the 2013-14 season.
Apologies to: Eddie Jones, Dan Majerle, Kevin Edwards.
Point Guard: Tim Hardaway (1996-2001)
Tim Hardaway had already made himself the best point guard in Golden State Warriors’ franchise history by the time the Heat traded Bimbo Coles and Kevin Willis to the Warriors to get Hardaway and Chris Gatling in February 1996.
Hardaway didn’t disappoint in Miami. He was a two-time All-Star for the Heat and was named to three All-NBA teams, including the first team in 1996-97. In parts of six seasons, Hardaway averaged 17.3 points and 7.8 assists per game.
Hardaway is Miami’s all-time leader with 806 3-pointers and is second with 2,867 assists, fifth with 6,335 points and sixth with 541 steals. His 7.8 assists are second in franchise history and he is sixth with 17.3 points per game and 1.5 steals per game and eighth with his 80.1 free-throw percentage. His 40.1 assist percentage is the highest in team history.
Hardaway is also the team’s single-season record holder with 695 assists, 8.6 assists per game and 590 3-point attempts in 1996-97. His 41.9 assist percentage that season is also a franchise high.
One of Hardaway’s best games for the Heat came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, when he led Miami to a win over the New York Knicks with 38 points, seven assists, five steals and six 3-pointers:
In August 2001, the Heat traded Hardaway to the Dallas Mavericks for a second-round draft pick in 2004 and a trade exception.
Apologies to: Mario Chalmers, Bimbo Coles.