Who is the face of Miami sports in 2020? Here is our list, and No. 1 might surprise you | Opinion
The question is simple enough. Who right now is the face of Miami sports? South Florida’s biggest star on any of our professional teams?
We thought the timing was right to ask as all of our teams reassemble this month and prepare to play again, always presuming the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic lets them.
The answer is not so simple because of a lack of obvious candidates reflecting the evolution and flux we are in this weird summer of 2020. We see the Dolphins and Marlins plainly in tear-it-down-and-start-again rebuild mode. And the Heat still trying to find its way back to contender status, post Big 3 era. We see the Florida Panthers improved but always in search of some elusive missing piece. And welcome an expansion team in soccer’s Inter Miami.
Face of Miami sports is an exercise we like to do every couple or three years to suit an always-shifting landscape. And oh how easy it used to be!
We first did this in December 2015 and we were amid a bounty of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, Jaromir Jagr, Roberto Luongo,Christian Yelich, Cameron Wake, Ichiro, Chris Bosh, Ndamukong Suh — all gone now.
Honestly, the biggest sports stars we have today are former athletes both distant (Dan Marino) and near (D. Wade). We hold onto memories more fiercely than we embrace anyone new.
Our biggest current sports figures don’t play at all, they wear suits. Derek Jeter. Erik Spoelstra. Pat Riley. David Beckham.
For our 2020 Face of Miami Sports top 20 we are considering only players on the current rosters of our five major pro teams. Our criteria is a mashup of career accomplishment, potential, starpower, popularity, local impact and national stature. A starting point for me? Imagine: You are driving along Interstate 95 and see a giant billboard. It reads, THIS IS MIAMI SPORTS, with a Mount Rushmore-like display of the four active athletes who best represent us.
Who are they? Here’s what I say:
1. Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: Crazy, right? Only been a Fin since the April draft. Has not thrown a pass here yet or stepped on a practice field. But he’s the face of Miami sports!? Yes. He is the new quarterback for team we have been waiting more than 20 years to love again. He is who South Florida is willing with all its might to become a superstar and lift Miami. On potential and the hope of excitement he brings, Tua is on top.
2. Jimmy Butler, Heat: You can argue whether Butler is a superstar or elite, but just being in that conversation says plenty. The small forward/shooting guard in his first season in Miami is a five-time NBA all-star, including this season with the Heat, off a team-leading 20.2 scoring average, 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game
3. Udonis Haslem, Heat: He just turned 40, the oldest player in the NBA. He hardly plays anymore. Still, Mr. 3-0-5 is an essential locker room presence and an important figure in the community as seen most recently in the wake of social justice protest after the George Floyd killing. Could have had U.D. No. 1 on this list, as a matter of fact.
4. Aleksander Barkov, Panthers: In his seventh Cats season but still only 24, Barkov is Florida’s team captain despite his youth. Had a career-high 35 goals and a franchise-record 96 points last season and was rated by NHL.com as the league’s eighth-best player entering this season.
5. Bam Adebayo, Heat: The center is a blossoming young star who has started all 65 games, averaged 16.2 points and 10.5 rebounds and made his first all-star team this season. (And with none of the pouty attitude stuff that makes us not miss Hassan Whiteside in the least).
6. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins: The veteran bearded QB is ideally suited to be a mentor and understudy when Tagovailoa is ready. Meantime he was really good last season as team MVP with 20 TD passes and an 85.5 rating, as well as an engaging personality that made him instantly popular.
7. Goran Dragic, Heat: Dragic lost his starting job to Kendrick Nunn yet is third on team in scoring at 16.1 points in his sixth season in Miami. And adapted to his reserve’s role with the team-first class we fully expected.
8. Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers: The veteran goaltender was Florida’s big offseason free agent signing and had begun to find his form before the stoppage after a rough start. He’s a five-time all-star and twice the Vezina Trophy winner as goalie of the year.
9. Sandy Alcantara, Marlins: Don’t be fooled by the 6-14 record last season. Alcantara blossomed into Miami’s top starting pitcher with a 3.88 ERA in almost 200 innings and was the Marlins’ lone all-star selection. Likely to be the team’s 2020 Opening Day starter, should there ever be one of those.
10. Jonathan Huberdeau, Panthers: An eight-year Cat, the 2013 NHL rookie f the ear has blossomed the past three season, including a team-leading 78 points and his first all-star selection this interrupted season.
11. Rodolfo Pizarro, Inter Miami: You likely don’t know him. Yet. The first-year team played only two games (both on the road) before the coronavirus shutdown. But he of the standout frosted hair is a rising star out of Mexico, an attacking midfielder recently ranked 13th on MLSSoccer.com’s list of the league’s 50 best players.
12. DeVante Parker, Dolphins: He’s this high based on one season and the belated promise it suggests. He was closer to a first-round draft bust before he swept that away in 2019 with a breakout 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine TDs. He would be an even bigger star if tried harder to be an engaging, willing interview.
13. Sixto Sanchez, Marlins: Miamis No. 1-ranked prospect figures to make his MLB debut this (eventual) season, and has a chance to become the Marlins’ most dominant ace pitcher since the late Jose Fernandez. Scouts describe a high-90s fastball, diving changeup and great command.
14. Xavien Howard, Dolphins: Cornerback made the Pro Bowl in 2018 with an NFL-leading seven interceptions, but durability issues hurt his ranking after injuries affected each of his past two seasons.
15. Brian Anderson, Marlins: The third baseman/right fielder could be an emerging star. Anderson was fourth in 2018 rookie of year voting and last season had a career best 20 homers and 66 RBI despite missing the final month injured.
16. Byron Jones, Dolphins: Miami made Jones the league’s highest-paid cornerback after prying him from Dallas in free agency this year. But, with only two picks in 73 career starts, is he worth it?
17. Aaron Ekblad, Panthers: The defenseman earned three all-star selections in his first five Panthers seasons entering 2019-20.
18. Luis Robles, Inter Miami: The goalkeeper is nearing the end of his career at 36, but has the heft of a future Hall of Famer with his 114 goalie wins and 72 shutouts ranking among all-time MLS leaders.
19. Miguel Rojas, Marlins: A solid defensive shortstop and a steadying veteran presence on a young team. Also solid at the plate, Rojas batted .284 with 29 doubles last season.
20. Andre Iguodala, Heat: The veteran forward and elite wing defender was acquired in a trade earlier this season. He’s a former NBA Finals MVP with Golden State counted on as a key reserve in Miami.
Considered but just missed: The Heat’s Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn and Derrick Jones Jr.; a handful of emerging Marlins prospects led by JJ Bleday and Jazz Chisholm; the Panthers’ Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov; and Dolphins Jordan Howard and Christian Wilkins.
Who would top your list as the face of Miami?
This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Who is the face of Miami sports in 2020? Here is our list, and No. 1 might surprise you | Opinion."
