10 Best Draft Picks in Heat History, Ranked

Since their inception in 1988, the Miami Heat have been one of the most successful teams in the NBA, winning three championships and making seven NBA Finals appearances—all in the last 20 years. A big part of the Heat's success has been their ability to scout talent and draft effectively, leading to them landing some of their most influential players in franchise history.

Today, we're going over Miami's 10 best draft picks in franchise history based on a stat known as Value over Replacement Player (VORP), courtesy of Basketball Reference.

10. Eddie House (2000 NBA Draft, No. 37 overall, 6.1 VORP)

Technically speaking, House wouldn't qualify for this list based solely on VORP. However, the two players above him, Marcus Thornton and Bojan Bogdonavic, never played a game for the Heat despite technically being Miami draft picks, so House barely squeaks onto the list.

House spent the first three seasons of his career in Miami, but returned for his final year in 2010-11. In his time with the Heat, House was a solid rotation player with an average of 6.8 points per game while playing 16.8 minutes a night. He did go onto have better seasons elsewhere, but was still quite solid in Miami.

Admittedly, this is probably a flaw with the ranking system as House wasn't at his best with the Heat. From a purely statistical perspective, though, he belongs at the end of this list.

9. Kurt Thomas (1995 NBA Draft, No. 10 overall, 8.6 VORP)

Thomas is another player who showcases the flaws in this ranking system, as he only spent the first two seasons of his career in Miami. He was still fairly solid with the Heat, averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 22 minutes a night.

However, the longest and most productive stretch of his career came with the New York Knicks from 1995 to 2005, plus a return in his final season in 2012-13. Still, credit to Miami's scouting department for drafting a player who would play nearly two decades in the league. Besides, the Heat were able to flip him at the 1997 trade deadline, along with two other players, for Jamal Mashburn, who had four very good seasons in Miami, so it's not like they left empty-handed here.