Dwyane Wade had an outstanding NBA career and has revealed that he modeled his game after some of the greats, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Wade played shooting guard throughout his 16-year career, so it makes sense to learn from two of the best. However, he also chose to pick a thing or two from the high-scoring point guard with elite handling skills in Allen Iverson.
While Wade didn’t have the AI’s ball handling skills, he was an elite scorer. He won the scoring title in 2009 after averaging 30.2 points per game.
Dwyane Wade’s inclusion in the NBA 75th anniversary team certainly meant a lot to him 💯 https://t.co/Ur9ANLyJib
On the “Point Forward” podcast, when asked about his early career and who shaped his game, the three-time NBA champion said:
“I got to see a guy, a team and players that I admired so much that I just wanted to go out there and do everything they did.
“So, I’m a great Jordan guy, which everyone knows, but I was a great Allen Iverson and Kobe guy. Those were my three that I kind of followed and tried to pat my game after, because I thought those three The games by different guys were something that I could achieve and that was achievable for me in a sense. So those three, man.”
In the end, Wade’s decision paid off. The Miami Heat legend is one of the best shooting guards in league history.
Dwyane Wade won three NBA championships in his career
Wade was part of an incredible 2003 draft class alongside LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh. Due to the level of talent in the class, the Heat selected him fifth behind Bosh.
Wade, however, was the first to win a championship among his peers. With the help of Shaquille O’Neal, he led the Heat to a 4-2 series victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.
In 2010, he was paired with two of his classmates from the 2003 draft, James and Bosh. Together, they reached the final four years in a row and won two titles.
“Miami is all about championships. You can take the years that you don’t win championships and say man, we had a great season, but that wasn’t a year that Pat Riley and the organization want to remember. They want to remember the ones that end in parades.” – Dwyane Wade https://t.co/u7boFuU7er
In their first year together, they lost the finals to the Mavericks. Led by Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs overturned a 2-1 deficit to win the series 4-2.
After winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, the Heat had a chance to win three peats. Despite beating the San Antonio Spurs 4-3 the year before, they lost 4-1 in the 2014 Finals.
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