Heat: Dwyane Wade, Not LeBron James, is the Greatest Miami Player Ever, per Pat Riley

Miami Heat Dwyane Wade L3GACY Celebration
(Photo : Michael Reaves/Getty Images) MIAMI, FLORIDA - President Pat Riley of the Miami Heat talks to former player Dwyane Wade during the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade L3GACY Celebration at American Airlines Arena on February 21, 2020 in Miami, Florida.

It's The Flash, not The King, who owns the title of the greatest Miami Heat player ever, according to Pat Riley.

Dwyane Wade will be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame this weekend, and quick to pay tribute to the shooting guard is Heat president Pat Riley who calls him the greatest player of the franchise, higher than Lebron James, who won two MVPs and two Finals MVPs, while with the organization.

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Riley said Wade, who steered them to their first NBA title in 2006, takes the crown as the best player to wear the Heat uniform.

"LeBron [James] was here for four years and gave us a tremendous lift and helped Dwyane achieve what he wanted to achieve," he said during a conference call with reporters.

"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."

Wade's unselfishness when he was already the best

Riley has been with the Heat since 1995 and has coached and worked with several players.

Wade stands out among the rest, according to Riley, because of his unselfishness and willingness to sacrifice when Lebron joined them together with Chris Bosh to form a Big Three.

"They went to the Bahamas, they came to terms with it and they lived by it. All three of them, if they had not sacrificed certain things - even LeBron at times. But he was the best, most dynamic player of that trio at that time and it turned into back-to-back championships and three more trips to the Finals. So, Dwyane was absolutely unselfish there, and I think he was the one that said, 'Hey man, we can't do it this way.' This is going to be the pecking order... Dwyane had a lot to do with actually starting that. You just have to give Dwyane credit. He's a very unselfish man."

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