Pat Riley, the President of the Miami Heat, bestowed the title of the franchise’s greatest player upon Dwyane Wade. During a recent conference call focused on Wade’s impending Hall of Fame induction, Riley expressed his sentiments about the 3-time NBA champions’ monumental impact on the team.
Riley’s praise for Wade came amid discussions surrounding the influence of other celebrated players like LeBron James. Riley articulated, via Anthony Chiang of Miami Herald, “As a Heat player, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever put on a uniform for us. LeBron [James] was here for four years and gave us a tremendous lift and helped Dwyane achieve what he wanted to achieve.”
While acknowledging the significant impact of James during his tenure with the Heat, Riley emphasized that Wade’s longevity and dedication have firmly established him as the quintessential figure in the team’s history.
“But over the body of work here in Miami, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever played for the Heat. That’s not an insult to LeBron, that’s because of his longevity and the short term that LeBron was here,” he said.
