Lakers News: Pat Riley Does Not Believe LeBron James Was Best Heat Player
Miami Heat president Pat Riley made waves earlier this week when asked about a previous iteration of his team 10 years ago.
Ahead of guard Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame induction that's fast approaching, Riley dubbed him as the greatest player in franchise history, surprisingly over current Laker legend Lebron James.
“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.”
Before social media was up in arms over the statement, what Riley said makes perfect sense. Wade stayed with the Miami longer than James' short four year tenure in comparison to his fellow 2003 draft class teammate.
Wade even won a title in 2006 before Lebron had even made an NBA Finals with Cleveland in James' first stint there as he and Shaquille O'Neal came back from down 0-2 to defeat Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
Despite James winning two MVPs, two Finals MVPs and appearing in four straight Finals for the franchise, Wade's staying power both before and after the current Laker's time in a Miami jersey weighs more into the debate for Riley.
It's undeniable that Lebron is the better player just off a pure accolade standpoint in comparison to Wade and that's not disrespect in any way.
However, for their collective times in Miami, Wade simply did more with more time in a Heat jersey than Lebron did.
We're sure James takes no offense to such a comment either considering that Wade County's time has came and went. The former with new teammate Anthony Davis is chasing #5 albeit in a different location than the beaches of Miami.
Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!
