The 10 Greatest Heat players in history, ranked by Player Efficiency Rating (PER)

4. Dwyane Wade - 24.0

The greatest player in franchise history who will soon be honored with a statue outside Kaseya Center doesn’t clock in at No. 1 on this list. But one thing we know is that no championship banners are hanging in Miami if not for Dwyane Wade.

Selected with the fifth overall pick in the historic 2003 draft (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh were also selected in that draft), Wade quickly became one of the standouts among his peers. He led the Heat to the playoffs as a rookie, then to a championship in his third NBA season. His 2006 Finals performance still ranks among the greatest in league history.

Wade played 15 seasons with the Heat, setting franchise records and winning three titles (2006, 2012, 2013). He briefly left from 2016-2018 (but we don’t talk about that) before playing his two final seasons in Miami.

On most people’s lists, Wade goes down as the third-best shooting guard of all time behind only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He changed the franchise more than any other player and introduced championship expectations to South Florida sports fans who weren’t around to remember the 1972 Miami Dolphins. There is no winning in Miami if not for D-Wade.