5 Greatest Players in Miami Heat Franchise History

#1 Dwyane Wade

Flash was one of the most exciting players to watch in the league during his prime

How many players in NBA history have carried their franchises on their back to an NBA title in just their 3rd season in the league? Not many. And among all of those players, nobody has had a Finals series that compares to the extent that Wade dominated the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 for one of the most unforgettable NBA Finals series ever played.

Wade was selected by the Miami Heat with the 5th pick in what has now gone down as one of the 3 best draft classes in NBA history in 2003. He was the template for all the explosive guards of the likes of Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell that we are able to watch today. As a two-way player, peak Dwyane Wade ranks right up there alongside the Black Jesus and the Black Mamba among the greatest players to ever play the 2-guard role.

Wade spent 13 seasons at South Beach and made 12 All-Star teams in that timeframe. His arrival turned the Heat from a bottom-feeding franchise into a playoff team in his very first season. If the Heat had somehow managed to beat the marauding Dallas Mavericks in 2011, he would undoubtedly have been the Finals MVP for the manner in which he put them on his back - people forget how great he was in that series because of James' meltdown at the same time.