Miami Heat's Pat Riley Calls Dwyane Wade The Most Celebrated Athlete In South Florida History

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley puts Dwyane Wade ahead of top South Florida athletes like Dan Marino
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For so many years, Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino was considered the most celebrated athlete in South Florida history. 

According to Miami Heat team president Pat Riley, that changed the moment Dwyane Wade was drafted in 2003. Wade, who was recently inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

In a recently interview with NBC6 Miami, Riley said he considers Wade the best athlete to ever grace South Florida. Wade finished his career as the franchise leader in points and helped lead the Heat to three NBA championships. 

"I'm pretty biased about it but for his tenure here he's probably the most respected, admired professional that we've ever seen in this state," Riley said. "I would say that unequivalocally and there's so many in other sports also. LeBron was here for four years but Dwyane was here for a lifetime. I don't think you'll ever see another player like Dwyane in any sport that's going to surpass him." 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here