”He was like a cougar” – Pat Riley equates Dwyane Wade to Michael Jordan, calling him ‘greatest player on the planet’ 

Dwyane Wade had a legendary career in the NBA, making him the greatest basketball player to ever suit up for the Miami Heat. Even in his young career, Wade was able to impress those who watched him, including Pat Riley, who compares him to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

Back in the 2006 NBA Finals, Wade led the Heat to their first championship win against the Dallas Mavericks. The star was fairly young at the time, and those who watched him play were in awe of his performance. Riley, who was the coach at the time, compared the 6-foot-4 star to MJ.

"Jordan-like." Riley said. "He was a like a cat, he was like a cougar. We used to watch this on tape all the time, 'Look at how low he is to the ground....' That's Michael.'"

Jason Simpson recently wrote about Riley being in awe of Wade's performance during the 2006 Finals.

"Riley recently said Wade was the 'greatest player on the planet' during the 2006 NBA Finals," Simpson wrote.

While he didn't have a similar career to Jordan, Dwyane Wade was able to carve his own. The Heat legend was able to cap off an impressive career, winning three titles. Now, he's on a similar path that the six-time champion had. The 13-time All-Star will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame together with basketball legends, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Gasol.

You might also be interested in reading this: “My GOAT has been Michael Jordan” – Dwyane Wade puts LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in his ‘room of GOATs’

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Dwyane Wade shares his analysis of Michael Jordan's Wizards and LeBron James' Lakers

LeBron James is at the latter end of his career right now, and many are expecting him to end his career with the LA Lakers. His former teammate, Dwyane Wade, talked about how his stint with the Lakers isn't comparable to Michael Jordan's time with the Washington Wizards.

"Michael, he averaged 20 when he came back," Wade said. "He was still very good, but LeBron has stayed at a level that we haven’t seen. So, the conversation for greatness, he makes it hard for all the older guys before that. It's about Wilt [Chamberlain], it's about Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], it's about all these guys. His consistency is amazing."

"He’s averaging 30 points a game in his 20th year in the league. So, I’m just happy that I get an opportunity to be a part of his greatness in any way I can, man. But we all witnesses, right? So, we gon’ see where he ends up."

It's hard to ignore that LeBron is still going strong despite being labeled as "old" in the NBA. He's the only one, if not the only, player to play at an elite level at this point in his career. It's interesting to witness how far he'll succeed with the Lakers despite his age.