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NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2018-19

By Josh Cornelissen

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images /
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Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images /

25. Miami Heat: Josh Richardson, SG/SF

The Miami Heat were once the team of stars, from Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal in the aughts to Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the early 2010s. Now they have reinvented themselves as a collection of high motor players looking to run opponents off the court.

Goran Dragic got the All-Star nod last season, and Hassan Whiteside leads the way in financial compensation, but Josh Richardson is truly the team’s best player. Defensively he can guard 1-3 like few others in the league, with a relentless tenacity and quick hands to swipe the ball. On offense he is not a primary creator, but can excel off-ball with shooting and cuts.

That kind of player is valuable on nearly any team, and many contenders may take Richardson over players ahead of him on this list. But offensive creation is still one of the most difficult skills in the league, and Richardson is not the player to lead a team in that way.