Miami Heat

Is Dwyane Wade the most important player in Miami Heat history?

Published Jul. 7, 2015 2:51 p.m. ET

foxsports

When Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade opened up to Twitter with a brief Q&A yesterday, there was a lot to take in. Wade talked LeBron James, his dad wearing Cleveland Cavaliers gear, Kobe Bryant ... and he even got in a few one-liners when supposed fans took shots at him. It was a fun half-hour, and a lot happened.

Among all the ruckus, one follower asked Wade if he thought he deserved to go down as the "greatest Miami Heat [player] ever." And Wade wasted zero characters with his response:

So that's Wade's opinion, and that's cool. But what do other observers think? ESPN.com's Michael Wallace was on the Joe Rose Show in Miami, and he offered his take on whether Wade should be considered the most important player in Heat history:

"Longevity, yes," Wallace said. "I think there’s not even a question about that. ... Obviously Shaq is on the mind, LeBron is on the mind and then Dwyane Wade. But in terms of longevity, in terms of what he means to the organization, yes, I think there’s no question that he’s the most important, dynamic player the franchise has ever had."

That's obviously a slightly different question than the one Wade was asked, but they're related enough. Either way, it's hard to argue that any player has had a more prolonged, pronounced effect on the Heat than Wade.

(h/t CBS Miami)

Photo Credit: David Banks/USA TODAY Sports