Miami Heat champion, icon, and legend Dwyane Wade still carries a massive voice in the NBA these days, not only as an Amazon Prime broadcaster but also on his podcast TimeOut with Dwyane Wade on the WY Network. For Heat and many NBA fans alike, Wade's perspective on the game carries weight, and his opinion surely drives some wild conversations.
Currently, Wade is the subject of a debate also including James Harden; it's been going on for several weeks over who's better. If you thought that sort of debate was relegated to Michael Jordan and LeBron James only, not so fast, apparently.
Speaking of James, a former teammate of Wade, has been the topic of discussion quite a bit lately since the Los Angeles Lakers were dumped in the second round of the playoffs. Since then, Wade has given his perspective on James' future and what he may or may not do. However, Wade's most recent comments on James are more legacy-focused and, more specifically, Heat-focused.
Dwyane Wade claims that LeBron James was the greatest Miami Heat player
The Heat have a splendidly respectable history going back to the 90s, but the franchise never reached its peak until Dwyane Wade was drafted, leading to a championship in 2006 and then back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, with two more finals appearances in 2011 and 2014. Several years later, the Heat would once again return to the finals in 2020 and 2023.
Other than Wade, the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O'Neal, Jimmy Butler, and Udonis Haslem donned a Heat jersey, with an honorable mention to Glen Rice. However, as great as some of these players were, including Wade himself, none of them were greater in a Heat jersey than James, and those words came straight from Wade's mouth this week while speaking on his podcast.
“I have the greatest body of work of anybody that’s ever put a Miami Heat jersey on," Wade said. "If you want to be honest, LeBron James is the greatest player to ever put a Miami Heat jersey on … 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 put on a Miami Heat jersey.”
Notice Wade separates the distinction between the greatest to ever wear a Heat jersey from the greatest player in Heat franchise history, because they are two different categories. Wade is correct, as far as the franchise goes, he's it; he's the greatest Miami Heat player as far as the totality of his career goes, but when it comes to simply wearing the jersey, representing the Heat, that aura belongs to James.
After O'Neal left the Heat, the Heat were sort of in limbo until James arrived in 2010, and that's when the Heat started to cook. That four-year span established Wade as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and multi-championship winner, and it also launched James' incredible GOAT-worthy path, one he's still walking today.
Considering what James did for the Heat in that small era, though, Wade is right to hand that particular crown to James. That said, when it comes to who still lives on in Heat fans' hearts even today, that honor has to go to Wade. He's a Heat legend, and despite James' greatness, Wade will always be "the Miami Heat."
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