In the NBA draft of 2003, the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall choice.
As the Miami Heat’s coach and president, Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade forged a unique friendship.
Riley gave an explanation of the reasoning behind selecting Wade with the fifth overall choice in the most recent episode of the podcast “The Why with Dwyane Wade,” which is a co-production of iHeartPodcasts and Wade’s 59th & Prairie Entertainment.
Wade said, “I mean, I know I wasn’t the first pick in the draft, but I was the Heat’s first pick in the draft that year,” “What did you see in me as a fifth pick that [made] you take that chance on me as a player?”
Pat Riley talks about why he chose Dwyane Wade
Riley’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him; Wade is a three-time NBA champion with the Heat and a Hall of Famer. As the head of Miami’s 2006 championship team, he was considered as one of the greatest shooting guards of his generation. He said,
“And I say this because greatness stands out. It just stands out,” “And there are a lot of great players running up and down that court. Great athletes, great players, other players who are very good…But you just stood out, Dwyane, and you dominated. And – I didn’t know how big they were – I said, his hands are huge, the length of his arms, all the things that I think great athletes need in this game to dominate. I don’t care what sport it is, you know you had it. But I saw the fierceness also there so I was sold at that time.”
