Heat icon reveals the best leaders he played with in NBA - Hot Hot Hoops

Dwyane Wade is the greatest player in Miami Heat history. (Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images)

Former Miami Heat great Dwyane Wade will forever be an icon not only in Heat history, but in Miami sports history. He was a huge reason why there’s an entire generation of fans in the city, where he’ll forever immortalized as an all-time great.

But none of it — including the Heat’s three championships — was accomplished alone.

Wade had an excellent support system to help build him up to the player he became — a top-3 shooting guard in NBA History who made 13 All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams and three All-Defensive Teams. Leaders create more leaders. And Wade was an excellent leader over his 16 seasons, including 15 with Miami.

Courtesy of The Athletic, Wade recently opined about the three-best leaders he’s ever played with in the league.

Pat Riley

Udonis Haslem

Shaquille O’Neal

Riley, who joined the organization in 1995 as the team’s head coach and president, built a culture from scratch that’s made the Heat one of the league’s most successful franchises over that span.

“He set the standard for us,” Wade said about Riley. “He taught us the importance of accountability. When you play on a team, you have to have accountability to each other. And that accountability to each other starts with accountability individually.

“To be successful, to raise that trophy and one day call yourself a champion, you have to learn what accountability looks like. And it has to be every day.”

O’Neal spent three-and-a-half seasons with Miami, averaging 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in 205 career games. He finished second in MVP voting in his first season with Miami in 2004-05.

“He showed me the ropes,” Wade said about O’Neal. “He showed me how to be a superstar on the court and off the court. He even gave me the nickname ‘Flash.’ He sat down and talked to me about authenticity and making sure that my DNA was in everything that I did. It changed the way I went into meetings, it changed the way I thought about my brand and myself.

“The one thing I loved about Shaq: Everything we did, we did together, but he made sure he took care of everyone. … He allowed us to enjoy ourselves, but he was on us about how we did it, and he also made sure we were all together doing it.”

Haslem, who retired after the 2022-23 season, became one of three players in NBA History to play 20 seasons with one team. Haslem eats, sleeps and breathes the city of Miami, and was one of the organization’s true leaders despite never being one of the team’s best players.

“UD was never one of the top guys when it came to stardom, but he still had the loudest voice in the locker room,” Wade said of Haslem. “When he talked, everyone listened because we knew it wasn’t coming from a selfish place at all. It was coming from a guy who would literally give everything in his body for you on whatever play. He would take fines for you. He was making the least amount of money as an undrafted guy, but he didn’t care.

“He made sure that the rules Pat Riley set down were followed by everyone in the locker room. Even when LeBron James and Chris Bosh came, nothing changed. … He understood what I wanted from my career, and when he didn’t see me doing that or providing the things I said I wanted to do, then he held me accountable.”

Heat icon reveals the best leaders he played with in NBA – Hot Hot Hoops

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