Best draft picks in Miami Heat history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in Miami Heat history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#23. Khalid Reeves
- Stacker score: 1.4
- 12th overall pick in 1994
- Played one season with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 7.8 PTS, 2.1 REB, 3.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.4 win shares, -1.3 box plus/minus, 1.0 VORP
#22. Shabazz Napier
- Stacker score: 1.7
- 24th overall pick in 2014
- Played one season with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 7.1 PTS, 1.9 REB, 2.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.1 win shares, -0.7 box plus/minus, 2.0 VORP
#21. Michael Beasley
- Stacker score: 2.3
- Second overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 12.4 PTS, 4.7 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 15.6 win shares, -1.7 box plus/minus, 0.9 VORP
#20. James Ennis
- Stacker score: 2.4
- 50th overall pick in 2013
- Played two seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 6.7 PTS, 3.3 REB, 0.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.2 win shares, -1.5 box plus/minus, 0.9 VORP
#19. Tyler Herro
- Stacker score: 2.6
- 13th overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 17.7 PTS, 4.9 REB, 3.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.5 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 3.5 VORP
#18. Kevin Edwards
- Stacker score: 2.7
- 20th overall pick in 1988
- Played five seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 10.9 PTS, 2.7 REB, 2.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 12.5 win shares, -1.1 box plus/minus, 3.3 VORP
#17. Rasual Butler
- Stacker score: 3.6
- 53rd overall pick in 2002
- Played three seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 7.5 PTS, 2.4 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 20.8 win shares, -1.4 box plus/minus, 2.6 VORP
#16. Matt Geiger
- Stacker score: 3.8
- 42nd overall pick in 1992
- Played three seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 9.2 PTS, 5.7 REB, 0.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 28.4 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#15. Bimbo Coles
- Stacker score: 4.2
- 40th overall pick in 1990
- Played seven seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 7.8 PTS, 2.1 REB, 3.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.4 win shares, -1.6 box plus/minus, 1.9 VORP
#14. Eddie House
- Stacker score: 4.7
- 37th overall pick in 2000
- Played four seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 7.5 PTS, 1.7 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 20.0 win shares, 0.0 box plus/minus, 6.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2008 NBA Champ
#13. Rony Seikaly
- Stacker score: 5.0
- Ninth overall pick in 1988
- Played six seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 14.7 PTS, 9.5 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 37.3 win shares, -1.9 box plus/minus, 0.6 VORP
#12. Josh Richardson
- Stacker score: 5.2
- 40th overall pick in 2015
- Played four seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 11.8 PTS, 3.1 REB, 2.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 25.6 win shares, -0.5 box plus/minus, 5.5 VORP
#11. Mario Chalmers
- Stacker score: 6.2
- 34th overall pick in 2008
- Played eight seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 8.9 PTS, 2.5 REB, 3.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.3 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 5.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#10. Dorell Wright
- Stacker score: 6.5
- 19th overall pick in 2004
- Played six seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 3.8 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 25.9 win shares, 0.9 box plus/minus, 9.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2006 NBA Champ
#9. Sherman Douglas
- Stacker score: 7.4
- 28th overall pick in 1989
- Played three seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 11.0 PTS, 2.2 REB, 5.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 32.9 win shares, -0.3 box plus/minus, 9.2 VORP
#8. Patrick Beverley
- Stacker score: 8.9
- 42nd overall pick in 2009
- Career averages: 8.5 PTS, 4.2 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 37.5 win shares, 0.9 box plus/minus, 11.7 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
- Accolades
--- 3x All-Defensive
#7. Bam Adebayo
- Stacker score: 10.5
- 14th overall pick in 2017
- Played six seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 14.7 PTS, 8.5 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 42.8 win shares, 2.7 box plus/minus, 14.5 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.3%
- Accolades
--- 4x All-Defensive
--- 2x All Star
#6. Caron Butler
- Stacker score: 10.9
- 10th overall pick in 2002
- Played two seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 14.1 PTS, 5.0 REB, 2.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 50.9 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 12.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2011 NBA Champ
--- 2x All Star
#5. Kurt Thomas
- Stacker score: 11.2
- 10th overall pick in 1995
- Played two seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 8.1 PTS, 6.6 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 64.2 win shares, -0.8 box plus/minus, 8.6 VORP
#4. Grant Long
- Stacker score: 11.2
- 33rd overall pick in 1988
- Played seven seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 9.5 PTS, 6.1 REB, 1.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 60.1 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 10.2 VORP
#3. Steve Smith
- Stacker score: 19.2
- Fifth overall pick in 1991
- Played five seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 14.3 PTS, 3.2 REB, 3.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 83.7 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 24.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2003 NBA Champ
--- 1x All Star
#2. Glen Rice
- Stacker score: 21.2
- Fourth overall pick in 1989
- Played six seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 18.3 PTS, 4.4 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 88.7 win shares, 0.8 box plus/minus, 24.9 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 7.5%
- Accolades
--- 2000 NBA Champ
--- 2x All-NBA
--- 1996-97 AS MVP
--- 3x All Star
#1. Dwyane Wade
- Stacker score: 53.8
- Fifth overall pick in 2003
- Played 15 seasons with Miami Heat
- Career averages: 22.0 PTS, 4.7 REB, 5.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 120.7 win shares, 5.0 box plus/minus, 62.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 100.0%
- Accolades
--- 3x NBA Champ
--- 2005-06 Finals MVP
--- 2008-09 Scoring Champ
--- 8x All-NBA
