30 Years of Heat: All-Time All-Player Countdown #69-67

69. Mark Strickland

Mark Strickland, a 6'9" forward from Atlanta, GA, played his high school ball at McNair High in his hometown. Born on July 14th, 1970, he played three collegiate seasons with the Temple Owls. He averaged 10 points per game as a senior, and six rebounds per game through his career. After going undrafted, he signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks in September 1992. He didn't make the team. After bouncing around for a while, he signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Indiana Pacers near the end of the 1995-96 season, scoring three points over four games. He spent 1995-96 in the Continental Basketball Association with the Yakima Sun Kings.

Before the 1996-97 season got underway, Strickland signed a two-year deal with Miami for $519,750. He appeared in 31 games total, averaging less than five minutes on the floor in each. In his extremely limited engagement, he shot 41.7% from the floor, totalling 62 points, 37 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Due in part to Miami being so far ahead by the time they put him in the game, Miami went 28-3 in his appearances. On January 16th, he totalled a then-career high with 11 points in 14 minutes, shooting five-for-nine in a 102-94 win over the Boston Celtics. In their last game of the season on April 19th, he again finished with 11 points, also grabbing four rebounds and blocking three of Orlando's shots in a 102-88 win. Miami finished at 61-21, winning the Atlantic Division with a second seed in the postseason. They defeated the Orlando Magic in a five game series to start the playoffs, also eliminating the New York Knicks in seven before losing to the Chicago Bulls in five games in the Eastern Conference Championship. Strickland got into four playoff games, scoring eight points in 16 minutes total.

Strickland appeared in 51 games, starting eight at power forward for Miami in 1997-98. It was arguably his best NBA season, as he set career highs in most categories, including 6.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, ad 0.7 blocks per game. He shot 53.9% from the field in 16.6 minutes per appearance. He finished in double figures 17 times with two double doubles, as the Heat went 34-17 with him in the lineup. In a 117-97 Heat win over the Boston Celtics on December 5th, he scored 20 points with six rebounds in only 16 minutes. On March 25th, in a 105-91 win over Boston, he set career highs with 23 points and 13 rebounds. At 55-27, Miami again went to the playoffs with a division title and the second best record in the Eastern Conference. They were shown the door in the first round by the seventh seeded New York Knicks, three games to two. Strickland played in three games, totalling nine points in 28 minutes.

Before the next season started, Strickland signed a three year deal with Miami for $6,802,400. 1998-99 would see him

shooting at a 49.5% clip, appearing 32 times, all but once off the bench. He played 11.2 minutes and scored 3.7 points with 2.4 rebounds per game. Miami went 22-10 with Strickland, who scored in double figures four times. In a 91-83 win over the Charlotte Hornets on February 24th, he scored a season high 13 points on six-of-eight shooting with four rebounds in 30 minutes. On April 29th, in a 107-96 loss to the Celtics, he scored nine points with eight rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Miami qualified for the playoffs with an Eastern Conference best 33-17 record, but were again eliminated in the opening round by the New York Knicks, again three-games-to-two. Strickland scored four points in eight minutes over two games.

1999-00 would Mark Strickland's (pun intended) last season in South Beach. He started five times out of a careeer high 58 total appearances. He shot 54.5% overall in 11.4 minutes per game, scoring 4.9 points with 2.4 rebounds. Miami went 36-22 with Strickland in the rotation, as he scored 10 or more points seven times. In a 101-96 loss to the Blazers on November 16th, he scored eight points with eight rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes. In a 96-88 win over the Denver Nuggets on March 10th, he scored a season high 13 points with four rebounds and two steals. Miami was the second seed at 52-30. After sweeping the Detroit Pistons in three games to open the playoffs, Miami lost in familiar fashion in seven games to the Knicks. Strickland closed out his Heat career by appearing in one game, scoring two points with two steals in 10 minutes. On June 27th, Miami traded him with Voshon Lenard to the Denver Nuggets for Chris Gatling and a draft pick (Eddie House).

Strickland played 46 games for Denver, later playing with the New Jersey Nets(nine games), the Atlanta Hawks (46 games), and the Dallas Mavericks (four games).

Stat Line: 172 games, 11.7 minutes, .523 field goals, .703 free throws, 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 16.4 PER, 6.0 Win Shares.

Cumulative GameScore: 649.7

68. Shawn Marion

Shawn Marion, born on May 7th, 1978, is a 6'7" forward from Waukegan, IL. After starring for Clarksville High (in Clarksville, TN), he joined the Runnin' Rebels at the University of Nevada/Las Vegas. He played one season in college, scoring 18.7 points with 9.3 rebounds per game. The Phoenix Suns picked him in the first round of the 1999 draft, ninth overall.

Marion played eight and a half seasons in Phoenix (660 games), ranking sixth on the all-time leaderboard in games played. He also ranks second with 6,616 rebounds, 14th with 1,332 assists, second with 1,245 steals, third with 894 blocks, and fourth with 12,134 points scored. He also represented the Suns in the All-Star game four times while in Phoenix. On February 6th, 2008, the Suns traded him with Marcus Banks to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal.

Marion arrived in Miami in the fifth year of a six year, $86,310,000 contract. In finishing out the season with Miami, he played in 16 games, starting 15 of them at power forward. He finished in double figures 12 times, with nine double-doubles. On February 12th, in a 114-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he scored 23 points with 18 rebounds, playing in 48 of 53 minutes. On February 26th, he went 10-for-14 from the floor, scoring 24 points with eight rebounds in a 107-86 win against the Sacramento Kings. On March 10th, he scored 17 points with 17 rebounds as the Heat lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 99-98. Miami was a special kind of bad, going 15-67 on the season.

2008-09 would see Marion spend the first half of the season with Miami, appearing in 42 games (all but once as a starter). He played three quarters a night, scoring 12 points per night, grabbing nine rebounds with two assists. He finished in double figures 30 times, with a dozen double-doubles. On November 22nd, as Miami defeated the Indiana Pacers, 109-100, he scored 18 points with nine rebounds, six steals, and four assists. He scored 21 points with 15 rebounds in a 130-129 win over the Golden State Warriors on December 1st. On January 7th, in a 108-97 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he scored 25 points with 13 rebounds. On February 13th, Miami sent him to the Toronto Raptors with Marcus Banks for Jamario Moon, Jermaine O'Neal, and two draft picks (Da'Sean Butler and Jonas Valanciunas).

Marion played 27 games with the Raptors. He signed with the Dallas Mavericks before the 2009-10 season, and has played the last four seasons with the team (285 games). He is under contract next season for $9,316,796.

Stat Line: 58 games, 36.5 minutes, .475 field goals, .225 three-pointers, .756 free throws, 12.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, 16.1 PER, 4.5 Win Shares.

Cumulative GameScore: 681.4

67. Jon Sundvold

Jon Sundvold was a 6'2" guard from Sioux Falls, SD. Born on July 2nd, 1961, the Blue Springs High alum played his collegiate ball with the University of Missouri Tigers. He put up his best numbers as a senior, scoring 17.1 points with 2.4 rebounds per game. After graduating following the 1982-83 season, the Seattle SuperSonics chose him in the first round with the 16th overall pick.

Sundvold played two seasons in Seattle (146 games), averaging six points and three assists in 16 minutes off the bench. He then joined the San Antonio Spursfor three seasons (198 games), scoring four points and 1.4 assists in nine points per contest. The Heat picked him up when the Spurs left him unprotected in the 1988 expansion draft.

Sundvold signed with Miami for three years and $918,000. As a member of the inaugural season's Heat, he led the NBA in three-point percentage, shooting at a 52.2% clip (48-for-92). He played in 68 games, averaging 19.7 minutes and starting six games at shooting guard. Overall, his shooting percentage was not as stellar, clocking in with a 45.5% mark. He averaged 10.4 points and two assists per game, finishing in double figures 34 times. On December 27th, in a 101-93 loss to the Houston Rockets, he hit 10-of-15 shots with six rebounds and a total of 25 points. The 10th of January would see him play 33 minutes and score a season high 28 points with four rebounds in a 92-88 loss to the Utah Jazz. On January 15th, he equalled his season-high with 28 points (including a five-for-six mark from long distance) with three dimes and three steals in a 118-117 win over the Indiana Pacers.

In 1989-90, Sundvold continued to light it up from outside, shooting three-pointers at a 44% rate (fourth in the NBA). He played in 63 games, all but twice coming off the bench to average just short of 14 minutes per game. His points per game averaged dropped to 6.1. He scored 10 or more points on 18 occasions. On March 17th, he scored a season high 18 points, including a four-fo-six performance from three point range in 24 minutes of a 111-98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

1990-91 would see Sundvold's role shrink to 24 appearances, all off the bench. He played 9.4 minutes per game and averaged under five points with one assist per appearance. He scored 13 on three occasions, comprising of all his double figure efforts. He played in just three games the following season, scoring three points on (what else) a three-pointer in a 111-89 win over the New Jersey Nets. The shot would leave him a perfect one-for-one that season. He closed out his NBA career with brief appearance in Miami's first ever playoff game, a 113-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls. He went scoreless, missing his only shot and finishing with one foul.

Sundvold didn't appear in the NBA again after that, using his finance degree to open Sundvold Capital Management. He also sometimes works with ESPN, CBS, and with the Missouri Sports Network as a color analyst.

Stat Line: 158 games, 15.4 minutes, .435 field goals, .474 three-pointers, .850 free throws, 7.6 points, 1.7 assists, 1.1 rebounds, 12.0 PER, 2.1 Win Shares.

Cumulative GameScore: 688.6