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Heat president Pat Riley calls Dwyane Wade ‘the greatest player’ to ever wear a Miami uniform

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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Updated08 Aug 2023

Miami Heat president Pat Riley calls Dwyane Wade 'the greatest player' to ever wear a Miami uniform

Miami Heat president Pat Riley praised three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade ahead of his Class of 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement. During a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, the NBA executive labeled Wade “the greatest player” to ever wear a Miami uniform.

“As a Heat player, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever put on a uniform for us,” Riley said. “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.”

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“That’s not an insult to LeBron, that’s because of his longevity and the short term that LeBron was here. I think when he left, it was like a cooling off period,” Riley said of Wade’s departure in 2016. “It wasn’t something that was borne out of petulance on his part like, ‘Well, I’m just going to show you.’

“I mean, he got a great deal with Chicago for two years and he decided to leave. When he left, there were some hard feelings on both sides but they weren’t lethal … It’s not easy, sometimes this sport can get in the way of relationships. Even though he lives in Los Angeles and has a hell of a career off the court, we’re fused at the hip forever.”

Miami Heat president Pat Riley believes Dwyane Wade is ‘the greatest player’ to ever wear a Heat uniform in franchise history; Wade’s No. 3 jersey was retired in February 2020

Dwyane Wade was selected fifth overall by the Heat in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Marquette University. The eight-time All-NBA member made 909 starts in 1,054 NBA regular-season games over his 16-year career.

The 13-time All-Star averaged 22 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 33.9 minutes per game while shooting 48% from the floor, 29.3% beyond the arc, and 76.5% at the foul line.

“I just think the players today, like Dwyane, are very appreciative as they look back on their career and say I was in a good place in Miami and we helped each other get to where we wanted to get to – world champions, Hall of Fame,” Pat Riley added. “I love him to death.

“Every time I see him, we wrap each other up in a big embrace and we talk. We talk about a lot of different things. He’s a great friend just like Magic [Johnson] is a great friend, like Zo [Mourning] is a great friend. He’s really an incredible guy, incredible man.”


On Feb. 22, 2020, the Heat officially retired Wade’s No. 3 jersey. Wade became the sixth player in Heat history to have his jersey retired, joining Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Michael Jordan (the Heat retired Jordan’s number out of respect despite never playing for the franchise), Shaquille O’Neal, and Alonzo Mourning.

In 2022, the Heat legend was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Wade retired as Miami’s franchise leader in games played (948), starts (847), and minutes played (32,912).

This Saturday, Aug. 12, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will enshrine the Class of 2023 at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. Other NBA players joining Wade include Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, and Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway, and Lou Hudson were among last year’s inductees.

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