Miami Heat president Pat Riley says Dwyane Wade was better than Los Angeles Lakers star shooting guard Kobe Bryant in 2006 when Wade won his first championship over Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
Bryant led the league in scoring during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. He was also universally recognized as the best player in the game during that stretch.
Riley, however, says Wade impacted winning more than Kobe during that period.
“Dwyane was better than Kobe at that time,” Riley told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. “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.”
During the 2006 Finals, Dwyane Wade put on a show that fans might not see ever again from a 24-year-old playing in his first Finals.
After losing the first two games of the series in Dallas, the Heat won the next four. Wade averaged a staggering 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game during that stretch and was named the Finals MVP. The legend of D-Wade was born right there, and the 13-time All-Star never looked back from that moment.
Kobe Bryant was bounced in the first-round of the playoffs, while Wade was on top of the world at the time. It's easy to see why Pat Riley, who is obviously biased, favored Wade back then.
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