• Dwyane Wade has been called ‘Flash for most of his career
• The nickname was given to him by Shaquille O’Neal
• Wade reflected on how O’Neal’s marketing genius led to the creation of the nickname
Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal built Miami Heat’s current reputation as one of the best team’s in the East when they won the 2006 Championship for the first in franchise history.
Wade was given the nickname ‘Flash’ early in his career and it stuck with him throughout. Wade revealed it was Shaq who gave him the name and detailed the story behind it.
“Shaq is a marketing genius. It was preseason, he and I were in the locker room because we didn’t play that preseason game. We were sitting back there and he was like ‘I gotta find you a nickname.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t really need a nickname.’ I wanted to be in the same breath as Bird, Jordan, just one name. Like Cher, like Madonna. But he wanted to get me a nickname.”
Wade also shared that he didn’t like the nickname at first.
“He was staring at me for a minute and was like ‘I got it.’ The media came in after the game and he said my nickname, Flash. I rolled with it. I didn’t like it at first, and then I was traveling to different cities and arenas and everybody was calling me ‘Flash’.”
Wade was like a flash of lightning on the court, so O’Neal really knocked it out of the park with the nickname. Their pairing brought success in a flash to the Heat, winning the title over the Dallas Mavericks in 2006, their second season as a duo.
Dwyane Wade Epitomized His Nickname
The nickname made perfect sense for Wade, as he routinely attacked the rim with snazzy spin moves and finished with highlight-reel dunks and layups. His prime was shorter than many would have liked, but what Wade did from 2005-06 till 2009-10 proved he was one of the best two guards in the NBA.
Wade averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game for his career and won three titles. His decline after 2010-11 was not only due to handing the reins of the Heat to LeBron James but also because of knee injuries taking a toll, which led to his retirement in 2019. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend.
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