- Dwyane Wade sheds light on shooting a lot of free throws in the 2006 NBA Finals
- Wade attempted 97 free throws across six games
- D-Wade admits he got a few superstar calls
Dwyane Wade catapulted into stardom after leading the Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA Championship. Wade was just 24 years old at the time and averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
Wade won the NBA Finals MVP for his efforts. The most crucial part of the Heat legend’s offense in the series was shooting free throws. He made 97 trips to the charity stripe and made 75 across six games. Over the years, Wade has been criticized for getting unfair foul calls, and he finally snapped.
“Everyone wanted to make an excuse for something,” Wade said in a recent episode of the Crossover podcast. “And so one of the excuses they pulled out for me is, ‘Oh, he shot a lot of free throws.’ Well, why? Because my attack on the game was that. I attacked with that much force. And I attacked in angles.
“And yeah, did I get a couple superstar calls? You’re damn right. All superstars get ’em. But also outside of that, I put so much pressure on the defense that they had to — that they were outta place.”
Wade then pointed out that today’s players practice to get foul calls in games. However, he never did that and simply made it part of his offensive skill set.
“And so I knew before people were practicing how to get fouls,” he added. “Right now, these kids are training to get fouled. I didn’t train to get fouled. I just knew body angles.”
The 41-year-old concluded: “I think that’s lazy for people to say that. Because if you know the game of basketball to know that I put so much pressure on the defense that they had no other choice sometimes but to foul me or be outta place defensively, which allowed me to get to the line.”
(Starts at 14:25)
Dwyane Wade absolutely dominated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals. Behind his phenomenal numbers, the Heat won the series 4-2. Thus, making a 24-year-old Wade an NBA champion.
Pat Riley On Dwyane Wade’s Performance In The 2006 NBA Finals
The Miami Heat lost the first two games of the 2006 NBA Finals. However, Dwyane Wade took over the series from Game 3. He scored 42 points, including a 13-of-18 performance from the free throw line to lead the Heat to a 98-96 victory.
The Heat would go on to win three consecutive games and win the NBA Championship. Speaking of Dwyane Wade in the 2006 Finals, Pat Riley claimed the then-24-year-old was the best player on the planet.
Wade did win two more NBA Championships in 2012 and 2013, respectively. But by then, he had adjusted to becoming the secondary superstar behind LeBron James.
D-Wade will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023. His performance in the 2006 series against the Mavs will be forever remembered by NBA fans.
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