How Many Miami Heat Stars Are Considered Top Players In The NBA?

The Miami Heat's offseason was a big one, headlined by the franchise-changing addition of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. After months of rumors, they finally landed him to pair up with another franchise cornerstone, center Bam Adebayo. Together, the two are expected to be one of the scariest defensive frontcourt tandems in the league. The supporting cast around them has been built out pretty well to add onto that. Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobby Portis are just a few of the new additions while other players such as Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Davion Mitchell are returning to the team this season.

Bleacher Report unveiled their list of the top 99 players in the NBA. Surprisingly, only two players on Miami's roster cracked the list: Antetokounmpo at No. 7 and Adebayo at No. 34.

Antetokounmpo, 31, is joining Miami for his first season after a successful tenure with the Bucks. He was drafted out of Greece as a skinny teenager in 2013 but quickly became a true superstar in the league, winning two Most Valuable Player awards along with a championship in 2021. He is renowned for his defense as well, taking home the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020. The forward is one of the few sure things in the NBA at the moment and has not shown many signs of slowing down. There is a reason the Heat parted with most of their young talent to acquire him this summer.

Adebayo, 29. is entering the first year of his three-year, $160 million extension. Similar to Antetokounmpo, he is viewed as one of the better defenders in the NBA. He has been one of the franchise's true stars since being selected by them at No. 14 in the 2017 draft. Adebayo has never been viewed as one of the league's top scorers but had one of the most surprising stat lines in NBA history when he put up 83 points against the Washington Wizards in March, which is the second-highest scoring game by an individual player.

They're the only two players to be ranked even with a few other notable veterans on the roster. Wiggins has been quietly one of the better three-and-D wings in the league while Thompson's three-point skillsets haven't drastically dropped off despite him getting older. The Heat have a notable breakout candidate as well in Larsson, who signed his rookie contract extension recently. As the season progresses, there is a solid chance more players from the roster fight their way onto the list, especially if the team is as good as they're projected to be.