Even though he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as often as he should, there’s no denying that Dwyane Wade is one of the top 5 – maybe even top 3 – greatest shooting guards of all time.
Wade could play defense and posterize the best players on earth. He could run an offense and is perhaps the greatest shot-blocking guard in NBA history.
But more impressively, Wade did something that not many players have been able to do. He led his team (the Miami Heat) to an NBA Championship just 3 years after entering the Association.
Wade and the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals, with him earning Finals MVP honors after incredible performances for such a young player. That’s why even today, 15 years later, Wade continues to be amazed when watching his old highlights.
“Damn I was really like that,” Wade reacted to a video from his 43-point explosion in Game 5 of the Finals.
Damn I was really like that 😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/dE4x8ZjnP1
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 10, 2021
Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game on 46% from the floor, which is far more what you’d expect from a 24-year-old. So yeah, no wonder why even he continues to be amazed when watching that younger self.
The Flash was a bonafide winner, a two-way player that could get the job done on both ends of the floor night in and night out. Some people don’t give him enough credit because he won two rings with LeBron James, but let’s not forget that he was an NBA Champion long before James.