Dwyane Wade Is The Only Player Who Was Ever Late For Coach K Practice: “Mike Just Called Him Out, And Dwyane Said It Would Never Happen Again. And It Never Happened Again.”

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Mike Krzyzewski is one of the best coaches in basketball history. The veteran is facing his last season leading Duke and everybody’s trying to pay respect to one of the greatest to ever do it. 

Even though he spent his career coaching at a college level, Coach K never had a problem handling professional players, and we could see how incredible he was at it with all the medals he collected while leading Team USA. 

The 5x NCAA D1 champion never backed down when a player tried to step over him. It hardly ever happened, but Mike made sure to let NBA stars know he deserved respect and his job needed to be taken seriously. 

In an excerpt of “Coach K, by Ian O’Connor,” Jim Boeheim recalls the time when Dwyane Wade was late for a practice and Krzyzewski let him know that was unacceptable. The Miami Heat legend learned his lesson, becoming the first and only player to be late at a Coach K practice. 

McMillan maintains that Krzyzewski was never intimidated by the NBA players because he “was a star in his own right. He had an ego, too.” Still, Krzyzewski knew that he couldn’t berate the pros as he would his Blue Devils on scholarship—not that they gave him much reason to. Boeheim, who joined Krzyzewski on the U.S. staff, says that only one player was ever late for a Coach K practice or meeting: Wade, by five minutes.

“Mike just called him out, and Dwyane said it would never happen again,” Boeheim recalls. “And it never happened again.”

He never coached at an NBA level, even though he was very close in 2004, but the coach knew very well how to handle the egos of these players. They always showed big respect for Mike and that was the reason why they won so many things together. The 75-year-old will hang the suit this year after nearly 50 years of coaching, leaving incredible memories in those who played under him, including Wade.

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Orlando Silva has been a part of Fadeaway World for over three years now, starting in March 2019. Trade rumors, hottest news, controversies, and basketball gossip have become his specialties. After several years of seeing the Spurs dominate the playoffs, they've become his favorite team as players for the franchise either rise to the occasion or fall completely from grace. When he's not talking about the NBA, Orlando can be seen watching other sports, making music, or enjoying television series.
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