MIAMI - Of Pat Riley's many rules, there was one he always held dearer than most: Don't mingle with the other side.

He once forbade Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing from fraternizing with Michael Jordan. He discouraged players from offering to help up opponents on the court. Even during Miami's 2006 championship run in 2006, his phrase - "15 Strong" - was a reminder to the Heat that no one outside their locker room mattered.

Funny how things change.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh came to Miami in large part because of their friendship with Dwyane Wade. A generation ago, Riley would have shuddered at the thought of James and Wade sharing pregame embraces in different uniforms, of Bosh and Wade sharing meals together when their schedules allowed, the three of them talking and texting countless times each season.

Not anymore.

And that's why Riley got to add a giant note atop his Hall of Fame legacy: A star-studded team perhaps like no other.

"It's the new Pat," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "Remember, Pat was the guy who used to tell his players they couldn't talk to any other players. I don't think so anymore."

Riley's latest coup might have been the biggest yet for the 65-year-old who evolved from a rebellious kid from the small city of Schenectady, N.Y. into an NBA mastermind.

Wade. Bosh. And in a stunner, a two-time MVP in James.

All together on one team, his team, basketball's best in 2006, basketball's worst in 2008, and now one hoping to be in position to win it all for years to come.

"You are talking about the godfather of the NBA right now," former Riley player Derek Harper said.

Love him or hate him, few can argue that in a league filled with movers and shakers, Riley moves the needle like no other.

He coached the "Showtime" dynasty in Los Angeles with the Lakers in the 1980s, was a huge star in New York during his time with the Knicks, and then came to Miami with the infamous vision of seeing a parade down Biscayne Boulevard. It took Riley a decade to deliver that title to South Florida, and even then, plans for this 2010 transformation were already under way.

Riley made sure the books would be almost cleared out this summer, giving him more dollars than anyone to keep Wade and land at least one other star. He told fans to buy tickets early because big changes were coming. He exuded confidence heading into free agency. And in the end, it worked out even better than Wade or Riley could have imagined.

"Just tip your hat to him," Wade said. "All you can do."

He won 1,210 games in his time on the sideline, is one of only four men with at least five titles as a head coach, and is a Hall of Famer.

What he pulled off in the past week might have be the crowning achievement of them all.

"I know what it takes to win," Riley said. "And what it takes to win is really talented players who are tough and will trust one another. And I think we have found three guys who are very, very talented and very tough and they're going to trust one another. And to me, that's what it's all about."

Riley promised - and delivered.

"Pat Riley is the visionary in all this," former Heat star and current executive Alonzo Mourning said. "He knew the opportunity was going to present itself and it was just a matter of us strategically making the right presentation in order for the franchise to benefit from it. He did what he had to do."

Privately, Riley referred to the plan of keeping Wade and adding James and Bosh as the "Triple Play."

Miami would have the money. It had the organization, the structure and culture of family, the lure of a no-income-tax state, a formula that delivered a championship before.

And that's what Riley sold James and Bosh on. Come to Miami, he said. Win rings. Make history.

Not only did he get James and Bosh to buy in, he got them to sign for less money they could have made elsewhere, although having no state tax to pay makes the sacrifice seem less apparent on their collective bottom lines.

"The single thing I've learned from Pat, working for him for 15 years, is to think big. Really," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I mean, every single conversation. It doesn't even have to be about basketball. We could be talking about redoing a kitchen or something, and he'll turn it into making it a two-level state-of-the-art something, that type of thing. But he does think big. And he gets you to believe."

In James' case, Riley brought proof.

A bag of championship rings. Riley put them down on table. They rattled like "jingle bells," Spoelstra said. Rings and family, that's what he talked to James about for the better part of three hours.

When that meeting ended, Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison walked out of the room, confident that James was coming to Miami.

A week later, the deal was done.

"Blood, sweat and tears, all that as a family. And that's what I've always been a part of my whole life," James said. "That's always, since I was a kid, what I always seeked. And when I heard that from Pat and from Micky, it was, that was kind of like the icing on the cake for me."

James paused. "And the rings were pretty cool. I need a few of those."