- Dwyane Wade had an NBA Finals for the ages in 2006 as he led the Heat to their first championship
- Wade won Finals MVP as the Heat beat the Mavericks in six games
- Pat Riley believes Wade was the greatest player in the world then
There are only a few days left now for Dwyane Wade to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Wade had a tremendous career, as he won three titles and was a 13-time All-Star with the Miami Heat. There were many great highs along the way, but Wade’s finest hour will always be the 2006 NBA Finals.
Up to that point, the Heat had never won a title, and Wade managed to will them back from down 2-0 against the Dallas Mavericks to win the series 4-2. Pat Riley was his head coach at the time, and the 78-year-old had some high praise for Wade for his exploits in those Finals.
Pat Riley says in 2006, in the Finals, Dwyane Wade was “the greatest player on the planet.”
Pat Riley says in 2006, in the Finals, Dwyane Wade was "the greatest player on the planet."
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) August 8, 2023
Wade might well have been the greatest player on the planet then. The Heat icon averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in that series to win his only Finals MVP.
Wade really upped his game after the Heat fell down 2-0, as he put up 39.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in the last four games. Unfortunately, Wade wasn’t able to build on this the following season, as injuries led to him missing 31 games. Injuries would continue to be a problem for the rest of Wade’s career, and one wonders how much more he could have achieved had he stayed healthy.
Pat Riley Believes Dwyane Wade Is The Greatest Player To Have Played For The Heat
The Heat have had some incredible players like LeBron James, Alonzo Mourning, and Jimmy Butler suit up for them. For Riley, though, Wade is the greatest player to ever put on that Heat uniform.
The current Heat president went with Wade for his body of work with the franchise, as he was with them for 15 seasons while LeBron was only there for four. That’s not a wrong way to look at it, and you doubt James would have a problem with his good friend getting the nod ahead of him.
In those 15 seasons with the Heat, Wade averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. He is by far and away the franchise leader in points, assists, steals, and games played, and no one is going to catch Wade for a very long time.
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