What Dwyane Wade’s Heat teammates will remember most about playing with him
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Dwyane Wade: One Last Dance
Dwyane Wade’s final regular season home game at AmericanAirlines Arena against the 76ers on Tues., April 9, 2019 marks the end of a legendary 16-year NBA career that included three championships, an NBA Finals MVP award, 13 All-Star appearances and many more honors. A look back at an iconic career.
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Heat teammates reflect on what they will remember, 20 years from now, about Dwyane Wade and being his teammate:
▪ Bam Adebayo: “He’s had such an exciting career. It’s going to be crazy when my kids ask me, ‘What was it like playing with D-Wade?’ I got the old D-Wade with all the pump fakes. I didn’t get to see the ‘06 D-Wade, the athletic D-Wade. Seeing him still taking care of his body, how much of a professional he is, it’s great. D-Wade has been a great leader for us, a big brother leading us and likes to have fun, too. Likes to joke a lot, and that brings our team together.”
▪ Ryan Anderson: “He’s one of those last remaining players in this generation to really resonate with a city. He represents a city in a sense through basketball and through his team. Not a lot of guys hang around teams like that anymore, so he’s sort of the last in this generation to leave such a big legacy in Miami. But obviously, he’s going to be remembered for so many huge plays and just his athleticism, his leadership, his winning. He’ll be remembered most, I’m sure, for those championship years. But there were just moments that he carried the team on his shoulders just through sheer will. That’s one thing that not being on his team, being his opponent for so many years, you just know he’s going to bring so much effort and tenacity and he’s never going to give up on a play, and he’ll make crazy athletic plays. He’s the ultimate winner and ultimate representative of a team and a legacy in a city.”
▪ Goran Dragic: “As one of the best two guards in the league, won three championship rings and has a lot of records. The leader of this franchise. They’re probably going to talk about him like they did all the great two guards, like Michael Jordan and Kobe [Bryant].
“He’s always there for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie or you’re a vet. As long as you are his teammate, he’s always going to be a leader and he’s going to help you.
▪ James Johnson: “His competitiveness, his nature to win, his meaning to a franchise. On and off the court, just the miraculous things that he does. I’m not gassing him up because he’s on my team. But luckily I got a chance to have him on my team and see the ins and outs and the on-court, off-court stuff that he really goes through. That man really doesn’t get a break, and it all comes with what he accomplished on the court.
“He’s very humble. He loves to teach. It’s funny, he loves to teach. A lot of guys with whatever team, you’ll hear him talking in and out like he did with D’Angelo Russell at the All-Star Game. Just letting him know that he’s really good and things like that and what he can work on. That’s just who he is and that’s the knowledge he wants to leave with the game. He wants to be able to leave that knowledge and not just take it with him and be selfish.”
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▪ Derrick Jones Jr:: “One of the greatest shooting guards of all time, if not one of the greatest players of all time. I’ve been watching “Three” for a long time, and just to see where his game has gone, and the accolades he’s achieved and everything he’s done for this game and this franchise, it’s just been a great thing.
“I appreciate every moment I get to step out there with him, even if I’m not playing. I’m happy to see everything that’s happened for him because he’s a hard-working guy and deserves everything that he’s got. He always would go out there at a steady pace, never let anybody rattle him, never let anybody speed him up. His approach to the game is always A-1. Most of the time when we’re on the floor together, he would pull me aside to let me know what he sees with my game and things I don’t see.”
▪ Rodney McGruder: “He’s one of the top three shooting guards ever. His legacy will live on forever. Everybody is going to remember what he did for the city of Miami. He brought a different culture with him. Miami was always known for a tough culture, coach Pat [Riley] brought that. But D-Wade brought like a different swagger to the Heat, and that’s living on through all of the young guys.”
▪ Kelly Olynyk: “He’s a great person, super high character, has a love for the game of basketball, but is also one of the most giving people I’ve ever met. Nothing is about him ever. It’s always about giving into other people, into the team, into whatever he’s doing and the people around him. He kind of breathes life into them.
“One of the things that surprised me when I first got here was how he treated everybody and how much time and attention he gave everybody. You see a lot of times guys of his nature and stature have one or two guys they mess with on the team or hang around. He will sit with anybody at a team meal and talk to them. When he first got here, he sat with me and Justise or whoever, sits with young guys, old guys, guys in the middle and really welcomes you into his life. He’s just a super welcoming, giving person. He takes interest in everybody and gives everybody the same time of day. He doesn’t blow anybody off or think he’s above anybody. It’s really refreshing.”
▪ Josh Richardson:: “Legend, one of the best ever. One of the guys that was one of the game-changers. Was huge in the Eurostep becoming a big thing. And he shaped Miami basketball culture.”
▪ Dion Waiters: “Just changing the game as a dynamic two guard. All the little things that may go unnoticed with the kids growing up today, they may not have seen the young D-Wade. They see the D-Wade now. But for what he did to change the game, playing above the rim almost like he was 6-9. Just how special he was all around. He’s always fundamental about using the pump fake, the shot off the glass. Those aren’t easy shots. He has a lot of different twos in his arsenal that he can use and always bring out.
“On an everyday basis, just the love and appreciate he gets from different cities. What he brought to the game, his impact on the game. I always ask him a bunch of questions. I’m always watching him dissect the game. He’s one of the best pick-and-roll players we’ve ever had. To this day, he still knows how to manipulate a defense.”
▪ Hassan Whiteside: “One of the best teammates you could have. A legend. He’s probably the highest IQ guy I’ve played with, the way he thinks the game. Just finding you on pick-and-rolls, he can teach classes on it.
“I will [always] remember D-Wade coming to my house at 3 a.m. on a golf court a couple months ago. He was riding around in the neighborhood; we live in the same neighborhood. He came by; we talked for a while. He’s the last person I would suspect to come to my house at that hour.”
▪ Justise Winslow: “You’ll think Flash. You’ll think the Eurosteps, the fadeaways, the heart, the big shots, the Olympics, the Big 3, the ‘06 championship. There is so much he did. You’ll think jersey swapping. You’ll think the knee pads, the thigh pads. You’ll think the fashion.
“And [all of] that’s why he’s a true basketball legend, a true basketball icon. You can point to any facet in relation to basketball, whether it’s [scoring in the] mid-post, whether it’s post finishing, whether it’s building your brand of basketball. Anything related to basketball, you can use him as a teaching point, and that just speaks to the type of person he is and the type of player he is. [His last season] has been an inspiration and motivation for me. He’s a basketball icon.”
▪ General manager Andy Elisburg: ”He’s been the greatest player in the history of the franchise. He’s been the standard bearer. When you talk about the greatest player in the history of the franchise, that goes beyond what happens on the floor. He set the stage for everything that we’ve been, everything that we’ve done. He’s touched every aspect of who our team is. We’re now in year 31 of the franchise and you think about what he’s been over his 16 years and you think OK who’s going to come in? It’s hard to imagine he’s not going to be the best player in the first 50 years of the franchise.”
▪ Head athletic trainer Jay Sabol: “I get so many people who come to me and they’re like, ‘Have you gotten D-Wade to sign anything? Have you gotten D-Wade to do this for you? You’ve known him for so long.’ I told D this: ‘You know, all these people ask me and I say I don’t need anything signed. I got three championship rings. Every time I look at those, I’m reminded of how much you did for myself and the organization.’”
▪ Play-by-play announcer Eric Reid: “He’s clearly the greatest player in the history of our franchise. But I think the statement I want to make is I don’t ever see that changing. I think he’s going to be the greatest player in the history of the franchise for the history of the franchise. Simply because it’s hard to imagine anybody else coming in and laying down 14 years like that, with all those All-Star appearances, three championships, Finals MVP, all the games he’s won, the way he’s handled himself.”
▪ Spanish radio announcer José Pañeda: “There will never be another Dwyane Wade. He’s a special, special individual. I was born and raised in Miami, a huge Dolphins fan growing up. There was nothing else. To this day, I’m awed every time I see Don Shula or Dan Marino. But he has taken over this town like nobody else has ever done. And well-deserved.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 1:04 PM.
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