Only a few months ago, there was a mounting chorus of voices proclaiming that Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler could be the best player in franchise history.
After all, Butler has already led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice this decade. Furthermore, although the Heat have had players like four-time MVP LeBron James, 13-time All-Star Dwyane Wade, and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning on their roster, Butler may have the best combination of skill, production, accomplishments, longevity and loyalty.
A six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-Defensive selection, 2015 Most Improved Player of the Year and inaugural Eastern Conference Finals MVP (2023) that's ranked in the top-10 of regular season MVP voting twice, Butler is a rags to riches story both on and off the court.
However, with Wade on the verge of being enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Heat president Pat Riley had to set the record straight on who the greatest Heat player of all-time is.
No, it's not Butler. It's not even James, a four-time NBA champion that could go down as the greatest NBA player ever.
It's Flash, the Chicago native that took South Beach by storm immediately after Miami selected him with the fifth overall pick in the famed 2003 NBA Draft.
“As a Heat player, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever put on a uniform for us,” Riley says, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
“LeBron [James] was here for four years and gave us a tremendous lift and helped Dwyane achieve what he wanted to achieve. 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.”
Once in a lifetime
Those that were able to watch Dwyane Wade in his prime, especially in his early years with the Miami Heat, know just how special the eventual three-time NBA champion was. It honestly had the feeling of a once-in-a-lifetime event, as Wade assaulted the rim with a blend of grace and athleticism that may still be unmatched.
In fact, to get a player like Wade today, you may have to combine the athletic acrobatics of Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox Morant, the infamous intensity of Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, the intriguing in-between game of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, and the debilitating defense of Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart.
That's before you even get into his passing, as Wade leads the Heat franchise in not just all-time points (21,566) and steals (1,492), but assists as well (5,310)
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