Every season, most major news outlets put out their rankings of the top NBA players around the league. With how good the Miami Heat are right now, they are bound to have at least a couple of players on those lists.
Earlier this offseason, we here at All U Can Heat put together a list of the top 50 players in the league. Recently, ESPN came out with their top 100 list.
They put it out in parts, releasing the back 50 first, then another group, then another. With each new batch of players, Miami Heat fans had to look out for their favorite players.
Now, unfortunately, no one on the Heat fell in the top five on ESPN’s list. That title went to Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Stephen Curry.
However, Miami did have some players scattered around the rest of the list. In total, they ended up having four players listed inside the top 100.
There are a bunch of Miami Heat players who have the potential to be on ESPN’s list. The clear favorites are Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but plenty of other players on the team have a clear case to be top 100 at the very least.
In the end, one player ended up in the top 20, one in the top 25, one in the top 50, and one more in the top 100. Which players do you think deserved to be on this list?
So, who ended up being listed in the top 100 by ESPN? Did they deserve it? Did someone else on the Miami Heat get snubbed?
Miami Heat: ESPN’s top 100 NBA players: 92. Duncan Robinson & 43. Kyle Lowry
Duncan Robinson just squeaked into ESPN’s top 100 players list. He was ranked 92nd overall but fell 17 spots from 75th overall last season.
Miami’s newest addition, Kyle Lowry, finds himself ranked 43rd on ESPN’s list. The veteran point guard was ranked 30th last year, meaning he fell 13 spots in the rankings.
92. Duncan Robinson
ESPN lists “one big question” under every player on the list. For Robinson, their biggest question is whether or not he can live up to the massive $90 million contract extension Miami gave him this summer.
This is a pretty fair question considering how much money Robinson will be making. However, if Robinson can continue to shoot as well as he has, this is not a bad deal.
Some players around Robinson on the list include Jonas Valacniunas (94), Mitchell Robinson (93), Derrick Rose (91), and Jordan Clarkson (90). Overall, this isn’t too bad of a ranking for Robinson.
43. Kyle Lowry
The big question ESPN has about Lowry going into this year is whether or not Lowry will be able to help lift the Heat to a top team in the East. They also question his ability to gel with the team immediately.
Most people believe Lowry will be able to step in and fit well with the Heat’s current roster. However, whenever a player joins a new team, there’s always a chance there will be growing pains.
Players around Lowry on this list include DeMar DeRozan (45), Myles Turner (44), Julius Randle (42), and Michael Porter Jr (41). This may be a little too low for Lowry, but it’s not the end of the world.
Miami Heat: ESPN’s top 100 NBA players – 16. Jimmy Butler & 21. Bam Adebayo
ESPN ranked Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo 21st on their list. He was ranked 13th on the list in 2020, meaning he fell eight spots.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler was ranked 16th overall by ESPN on this year’s list. Last season, Butler was ranked 12th, meaning he ended up falling four spots on their list.
21. Bam Adebayo
The question they have about Adebayo is less of a question and more of a statement. ESPN states that Adebayo needs to continue to develop his offensive game, while also improving even more on defense.
Basically, they just said that the young star needs to stay on the same path he is currently on. The only thing of substance in that “question” is that Adebayo has to do more on offense.
The players around Adebayo on this list include Zion Williamson (23), Jrue Holiday (22), Kyrie Irving (20), and Khris Middleton (19). It’s weird to see that Adebayo fell so many spots, but overall, this is a pretty fair ranking for him.
16. Jimmy Butler
ESPN’s biggest question about Butler going into this year is, once again, less of a question and more of a statement. They say that Butler needs to step up once again and lead the Miami Heat to the promised land.
This isn’t really anything surprising, because if the Heat are ever going to have any success, Butler is going to be the one to lead them there. He’s been the leader in Miami ever since he got there, and he will continue to be.
The players surrounding Butler on this list are Donovan Mitchell (18), Trae Young (17), Devin Booker (15), and Jayson Tatum (14). There’s an easy argument to put Butler higher on this list, but this ranking is just fine.