Dwyane Wade is widely considered to be the greatest player in Miami Heat franchise history. The Hall of Fame guard spent nearly his entire 16-year career with the organization and was a key piece on all three of their championship rosters — winning NBA Finals MVP in 2005-06.
He earned 13 All-Star selections, eight All-NBA selections, three All-Defensive selections and one scoring title in a Heat jersey. In nearly 1000 games played for Miami, Wade averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field.
All of his work culminated in his No. 3 jersey being retired and a statue of him being placed outside the Kaseya Center. Despite this, Wade recently labeled LeBron James as the greatest player to play for the organization.
“I have the greatest body of work of anybody that’s ever put a Miami Heat jersey on,” Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade stated. “If you want to be honest, LeBron James is the greatest player to ever put a Miami Heat jersey on — if we’re going off of that. 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 ever put on a Miami Heat jersey.”
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James spent four seasons as Wade’s teammate with the Heat, reaching the NBA Finals in each year and winning two titles. He won two MVP awards, averaging 26.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.7 spg and 0.7 bpg on 54.3/36.9/75.8 shooting splits.
It is unlikely that many would disagree that James — and Shaquille O’Neal, who also played alongside Wade in Miami — ranks higher on the all-time list than his former running mate. Despite this, it is clear that the long-time face of the organization remains the greatest player in franchise history.
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