The Miami Heat are a model NBA franchise. It seems that every single year they are in talks to win the NBA championship. Legends that have come through Miami include LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, and a slew of others, but what about the players you have forgotten once wore the black and red. Well, in your luck, because in this article we’ll be taking a look at NBA stars we may have forgotten suited for the Heat. Without further ado, let’s jump right into it.
Manute Bol
Let’s start the list off BIG! Or tall I should say. Manute Bol is the tallest player to ever grace an NBA court, and the majority of his career was spent patrolling the Washington Bullets’ backcourt. What I didn’t know was that Bol would make a pitstop in Miami and play only eight games for the heat during the 1993-94 NBA season.
Miami would be the only team that didn’t use Bol as a starter, and it’s safe to say his time in Miami was quite forgettable. During his extremely short tenure with the Heat, Bol would only score one two-point field goal and block six shots in a total of 61 minutes played for the team. Yikes!
Lamar Odom
Odom’s name is more synonymous with the Lakers and the Kardashians, but the power forward would spend a lone season in Miami before making his way to the Lakers in 2004. After four years with the Los Angeles Clippers, Odom was signed by the Heat, as the team was looking to add to the young core it was building around Dwayne Wade and Caron Butler.
It seems the move to Miami would revitalize Odom’s career, as he started 80 games for the Heat during the 2003-04 season, and ended up posting 17.1 points per game, to go along with 9.7 rebounds per game and just over 4 assists per game. Quite a season indeed. These numbers weren’t good enough to keep Odom on the Heat though, as he would be traded to the Lakers in a package for Shaq. The rest is history.
Mike Bibby
When I think of the name Bibby, a Vancouver Grizzlies jersey with the #10 on the back comes to mind. But Bibby would play in Miami and would end up being remembered for his less than stellar play in the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks. After clearing waivers on March 2nd, 2011, the Heat would play in the Finals, and Bibby would start all 20 games for them en route to the Finals. Sadly, this would end in defeat for the Lakers, and Bibby would then take his talents to MSG.
Amar’e Stoudemire
Stoudamire is best known for his illustrious tenures with the Knicks and Suns, but do you remember him as a member of the Miami Heat? Although his best years were far behind him, Heat management was willing to take a gamble on Stoudamire during the 2015-16 season and brought him on as a depth piece.
Stoudamire would only play in 52 games for the Heat that season, 36 of which he was a starter. He averaged close to 6 points a game, but it was clear that Stoudamire was slowing down significantly. This season in Miami would prove to be his last in the NBA, and once the season was over he took his talents to Israel.
Gary Payton
The all-star guard known as “The Glove”, Payton was and will always be one of the greatest point guards to ever do it. Known for his time with the Seattle SuperSonics, Payton made a couple of pitstops before coming to Miami and capturing his only NBA championship as a member of the 2005 Heat. Payton was brought in to backup Jason Williams, and it’s safe to say Payton flourished in his new role.
In his first season, he averaged 7.7 points and during the playoffs, he was ushered into the high-pressure moments, as he became known for his clutch play throughout those playoffs. The season would end with him and the Heat capturing a championship, and this would lead to two more years of Gary Payton with the Heat.
Penny Hardaway
Hardaway was part of the dynamic duo that saw him and Shaq team up during their beginning years in the NBA. When Shaq left for greener pastures during the 1996 off-season, Hardaway was now the lone star in Orlando, but after a couple of seasons, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Hardaway would then bounce around for a while until he would reunite with former teammate Shaq in Miami.
Hardaway’s time in Miami was pretty forgettable, as he would only play in 16 games and averaged 3.8 points. On December 12th, 2007, Hardaway would be waived by the Heat to make roster space for Luke Jackson. This would be the end of his illustrious NBA career.
Am I forgetting anybody? If I am, let me know in the comments below!