Dwyane Wade’s dunk on Anderson Varejao has lived on every highlight reel for more than a decade, but hearing Wade tell the story makes it even better. He finally broke it down on The OGs podcast, and the whole thing started because LeBron James tried to embarrass one of Wade’s teammates.
As Wade said, it wasn’t random play. There was a trigger. And it happened on the possession before the dunk.
“‘Bron tried to dunk on my big man. I was like, ‘OK, is that what you wanna do? Anything you can do, I can do better.'”
LeBron had gone right at Jermaine O’Neal at the rim. He nearly put him on a poster. O’Neal nearly blocked it, but LeBron ended up missing it. And that did not sit well with Wade.
And then the next play unfolded.
The Heat got out in transition. Wade pushed the ball up the floor with that little extra burst he always had. The lane was open, and Varejao was backpedaling. Either Varejao has to stand tall, or he becomes a victim. He hesitated for a moment. Wade didn’t.
Wade took off, cocked the ball behind him, and crushed it over Varejao with ridiculous violence. Varejao folded backward like a lawn chair. Wade landed on him, got the foul, and sprinted away screaming. The arena went crazy. Varejao slid across the floor like he’d just been run over. It was one of those dunks that made fans fall in love with the NBA. And Wade actually had a special person in attendance.
“And MJ was at the game, by the way. His first game seeing me play as a Jordan athlete.”
Michael Jordan was courtside. Wade had just signed with the Jordan Brand, and this was the first time His Airness had come to see him in person as one of his guys.
There are big dunks, there are posters, and then there’s baptizing a seven-footer in front of Michael Jordan. Wade did that.
Looking back, it wasn’t just a dunk. It was a message. LeBron tried to throw down on O’Neal on one end. Wade answered louder on the other end. Miami and Cleveland were always fun battles back then, two young superstars pushing each other, going blow for blow, long before they became teammates.
For that one play, Wade beat LeBron at his own game. He saw the opening. He attacked it. And he delivered the kind of statement only prime D-Wade could make.
And with MJ watching from a few feet away, the timing couldn’t have been better.
