4. Grant Long (1988-94)
I could not leave Grant Long from this list, otherwise Chris Posada would have killed me. But he also makes the list because he sure as hell deserves to. Grant Long may have been the Udonis Haslem before UD ever suited up for the Heat.
The Heat drafted Long with the 33rd overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft. Long had a successful NBA career with the Heat, averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game on 48% shooting in his 7 seasons with the team. He was mostly known for his aggressive defense, rebounding, and all out hustle play with the Heat.
Long’s banner season with the Heat may have been the 1991-1992 season, when he averaged an NBA career high of 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on 49% shooting. He posted a career high 15.8 PER that season to go along with an impressive 57% true shooting percentage.
Like Brian Grant, Grant Long’s Miami career came to a halt as a result of a trade. He was packaged along with Steve Smith to the Atlanta Hawks for Kevin Willis
Next: P.J. Brown