Who is the best player in Miami Heat history: LeBron James or Dwyane Wade?
Dwyane Wade has all the accolades associated with the Miami Heat.
He is the franchise's leading scorer. He is the player with the most championship rings. His statues sits outside the Kaseya Center. A portion of Biscayne Boulevard in downtown is named after Wade.
He has almost every distinction ... except one.
Even Wade himself admits he isn't the best player in franchise history. He said that belongs to close friend LeBron James. Wade spoke about it during an appearance on his WyNetwork.
“I have the greatest body of work of anybody that’s ever put a Miami Heat jersey on," Wade said. "If you want to be honest, LeBron James is the greatest player to ever put a Miami Heat jersey on … I’m the greatest player in the history of the Miami Heat of the body of work that I had wearing that jersey. But I’m not the greatest player to put on a Miami Heat jersey.”
In many ways, Wade is right. James is the best player to ever wear a Heat uniform. He won two titles in four straight NBA Finals appearances from 2010-14. James also won two MVPs while making extraordinary players like Wade and Chris Bosh look ordinary. Many would argue James' best years were with the Heat even though he continues to play at a high level.
Still, Wade is considered the greatest player in Heat history because of his body of work. He spent the bulk of his career in Miami except for a 18-month stint with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers before finishing his playing days with the Heat.
When Wade was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, even team president Pat Riley referred to Wade as the best Heat player of all-time.
“Over the body of work over 17 years here in Miami, Dwayne’s the greatest player who ever played for the Heat,” Riley said. “And that’s not an insult to LeBron.”
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