- Pat Riley praised Dwyane Wade for his contributions to the Miami Heat franchise
- He added that his comments were not an insult to LeBron James
- Dwyane Wade is part of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class
Miami Heat President Pat Riley was lavish in his praise for Dwyane Wade ahead of his Hall of Fame enshrinement this weekend.
Per the Miami Herald, Riley explained what Wade meant to Miami and how he was a champion for the franchise.
“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. 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.”
Riley ensured that he did not mean any disrespect towards James, who played for four seasons with the Heat and won two of his four NBA championships.
Wade was a 13-time All-Star and made five All-NBA Teams in his 15-year-long career with the Heat. He is still the team’s all-time leader in points, assists, steals, games, shots made, and shot taken.
The guard won three titles with the Miami Heat in the 15 seasons he played with the franchise and averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists during his career and will be remembered as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.
As an icing on the cake, former NBA legend Allen Iverson will induct Wade into the Hall of Fame. And there’s the connection between the two, with Wade earlier stating that Iverson was one of his biggest NBA influences and that he wore the No. 3 to honor the Philadelphia 76ers superstar.
There’s no doubt that James himself is a future Hall of Famer, and Riley knows that too. But this moment was about Wade, and the Heat head honcho made sure the 41-year-old got the respect he righty deserved.
Pat Riley Once Claimed Dwyane Wade Had A ‘Better Impact On Winning’ Than Prime Kobe Bryant
Such was Dwyane Wade’s impact on the team, that Pat Riley, who was head coach of the side in 2006, spoke highly of what Wade bought to the table.
“The best player in the world,” Riley said of Wade’s stretch from 2005 to 2009, per Bleacher Report. “Dwyane was better than Kobe at that time. He had a better year by having the impact on winning—in the Finals, in the biggest moments, on the biggest stage. And you get that moniker.”
Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in the 2006 NBA Finals. He won the NBA Finals MVP and, at just 24, became the first member of the decorated 2003 NBA draft class to win it all.
And Wade himself has claimed that he would have been in the GOAT debate if he wasn’t riddled with injuries in the later stages of his career. Given his achievements, there is no doubt that Wade would have been in contention for that topic.
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