When Dwyane Wade joined the Chicago Bulls and later rejoined the Miami Heat, he was faced with tragedies of gun violence that caused him to speak out on the issue. Throughout the last few years of his career, Wade has also been one of the foremost voices for various social causes.

Miami Heat president Pat Riley, who once coached a player who turned into a social activist in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, sees some similarities between the two players. He thinks Wade has a big enough voice that he could one day emulate Abdul-Jabbar, per Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post.

“I don’t know if Dwyane has the depth in those issues that Kareem has because of their age but I think one day he will,” Riley said. “When you’re seeing things from 15 years in the NBA and 10 years prior to that what he saw in Chicago, it definitely formulates a base of reference for you to be able to fall back on, and Dwyane is continuing to get educated by life and he knows to speak to life in a very succinct way.”

D'Angelo wrote that Wade has become comfortable taking stances on issues as he's gotten older. Wade, 36, now looks at life and his experiences differently, and said he has learned a lot of new things as he's gotten older.

Riley thinks Wade has great potential to be a significant voice.

“When you go back and trace his early years, he experienced so much and was around so much of that violence in the South Side,” Riley said. “And he was one of the few that was able to use basketball as a way to get out and to express himself and to become somebody who had a voice. Is he going to become an activist or would he ever become an activist? I think one day there is a possibility that he could. People believe him. People will follow him.”