Pre-2023-24 Rank: #42.

Peak Period:  2017-18 to 2023-24.  Adebayo has only played seven seasons, the maximum for a Peak Period.

Bam Adebayo has played all his career with the Miami Heat where he has made three All-Star, an NBA Final, and earned five All-Defensive Selections, with the Center finishing in the top five in Defensive Player of the Year in all of those campaigns.  Last year, he was third in DPOY voting and was a First Team All-Defensive Player for the first time.   His best could still be coming.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such it is huge news that the Miami Heat have announced how they will honor the retirement of Dwyane Wade’s #3; and it will be incredible!

Wade’s career will be celebrated over three days.

On February 21, a tribute to some of best moments will be held, which will celebrate his greatest moments.

On February 22, during their home game against Cleveland, his number will be retired.

On February 23, a documentary of his last season will debut at their home arena.

Playing 14 ½ of his seasons with Miami, Heat is the team’s all-time leading scorer.  He went to 13 All-Star Games, and won the scoring title in 2008-09.  The Guard went to eight All-NBA Teams (two First Team, three Second Team and three Third Teams), and led them to three NBA Championships.

Wade becomes the fifth player in Heat history to have his number retired.   He joins Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Bosh.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Dwyane Wade for earning this prestigious honor, and the Miami Heat for doing this right.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #26, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #19, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #17, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #17, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #13.

*Positional Note:  Butler has played significant time over his career as a Shooting Guard and Power Forward.

*Peak Period: 2016-17 to 2022-23.

Jimmy Butler is a fascinating case for the Hall of Fame.  Known for his playoff and big-game performances, Butler has not yet won an NBA Title but has led his teams (especially Miami) closer than they deserved.  Butler is A six-time All-Star, a one-time Second Team, and four-time Third Team All-NBA Selection, but he has only finished in the top ten in MVP voting once.

If you consider Butler a bubble candidate, remember that his strength defensively (he is a five-time Second Team All-Defensive Selection) should increase his chances, but it feels like Butler needs a little more to get into the Hall in his first two years on the ballot.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #18, Pre-2020-21 Rank #17, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #19, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #20, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #23.

*Positional Notes:  Love has also played a significant time at Center.

*Peak Period: From 2010-11 to 2016-17.

It is safe to say that Kevin Love is nearing the end of his career and has little time to add more accolades to his Hall of Fame resume, so if that is in fact the case, has he done enough?

Love was a three-time All-Star and twice a Second Team All-NBA player in Minnesota and was brought in to be the third piece to LeBron and Kyrie in Cleveland.  It worked, as the Cavaliers won the Title in 2016, but it also exposed Love as somewhere between role player and All-Star.  His ceiling might be post-career acknowledgments from Minnesota and/or Cleveland.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Miami Heat have announced that they are retiring the number 1 of Chris Bosh on March 26 when they host the Orlando Magic.

Bosh joined the Miami Heat after the 2009-10 season where he joined Dwayne Wade and fellow Free Agent, LeBron James to make a superteam. Bosh was named an All Star and helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals where they would go down to defeat against the Dallas Mavericks.  He would however help the Heat reach the Finals the next season and this time they would win by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Heat would win again in 2013 with a win over the San Antonio Spurs though they would lose to San Antonio the following year in the Finals. 

James would rejoin Cleveland, but Bosh remained at an All Star level and he was named one in all six of his seasons with Miami.  He played for them last in the 2015-16 where his year was shortened when he suffered blood clot issues where and he would never play again.

Overall as a member of the Miami Heat, Bosh played 384 Regular Season Games with an 18.0 Points per Game Average.  Bosh becomes the fourth person to have his number retired following Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Chris Bosh for earning this honor.

Yes, again we know this process is a long one!

Those who visit us on a regular basis know that we are methodically adding the Top 50 Players for every North American Team (NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB) and after that the intent is to look at how each team honors their former players and executives by way of Rings of Honor, Franchise Halls of Fame and Retired Numbers.

As such, it is news to us that the Miami Heat have retired the #32 of Shaquille O’Neal, making him the third player in team history to earn such an honor.

When Shaq arrived in Miami, he was ushered in an 18 wheeler with “Shaq Diesel” written on the side of it.  For this ceremony he was presented by a miniature replica of that beast of a vehicle, though this time it was driven by his mother.

O’Neal was traded to Miami in 2004 after the Lakers controversially lost the Finals to the Detroit Pistons, a series that on paper that Los Angeles had no business to lose.  The stories of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s inability to get along are now NBA folklore, and one of them had to go.  It was Shaquille who would leave, though he would take his scoring and rebounding skills with him. 

It would be a good fit in Miami as he would now be paired with the young Shooting Guard, Dwyane Wade.  Together, in 2006 they would win the NBA Championship, the first in Miami Heat history.

In the three and a half seasons that Shaquille O’Neal spent in Miami he had a 23.9 PER and averaged 22.6 Points, 10.5 Points and 2.2 Blocks per Game.

O’Neal joins Alonzo Mourning (#33) and Tim Hardaway (#10).

Notably, this is the second NBA team to retire his number as the Los Angeles Lakers did the same last year. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Shaquille O’Neal for yet another post career accolade. 

As you have noticed, we have been working on the Top 50 of every North American Franchise.  This will eventually lead into a look at the retired numbers and franchise Hall of Fames, which brings us to the news that the Miami Heat will be retiring the number of former Center, Shaquille O’Neal at an undisclosed date next season.

O’Neal spent three and a half seasons with Miami where he helped the team win their first NBA Championship in 2006.  As a Heat, O’Neal would statistically have 19.6 Points and 9.1 Rebounds with a PER of 23.9.  He would also win two Shooting Percentage Titles and earn a pair of First Team All-NBA honors as a member of the Heat.

Shaq’s tenure with the Heat did not end well, as he forced a trade to the Phoenix Suns, but time heals and realistically Miami would not have won their first title without him. 

The retirement of O’Neal’s number marks the second time that he has had his jersey retired as the Los Angeles Lakers did so a couple of years ago.  This is the fourth number retired by the team following Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Michael Jordan, even though the latter never played with the team.

The Basketball Hall of Fame announced that the eligibility wait time was reduced, which made Shaquille O’Neal eligible for the Hall this year.  It is expected that he will enter the Hall of Fame immediately on his first try.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Shaquille O’Neal for his latest accolade.

Glen Rice just maybe the most effective outside shooter of the 90's. Reggie Miller got all the hype but Rice was actually a better scorer and was a 6 foot 7 shooting guard who was almost impossible to defend.  He was the star and leading reason the Michigan Wolverines that won the 1989 title and he set a record for scoring of 184 points in the tournament that still stands today.  Drafted number 4 overall by the Heat following the 89 season, Rice became the expansion team’s first bonafide star. 

A popular player and a stealing machine, Eddie Jones was a very good Shooting Guard who strung together solid seasons in the late 90’s for the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets. Jones was just adept at steals, but was also a dangerous threat from behind the arc. He would three times be named to the Second Team Defensive squad along with three All-Star Games. We are sure many who were fans of Eddie Jones are chanting “Eddie” in their mind right now.