The Miami Heat had announced a statue outside their arena for Dwyane Wade a few months ago, now confirming that the statue unveiling will take place on October 27, with statue night taking place on October 28 as the Heat face the Pistons. LeBron James reacted to the date announcement on his Instagram story, sharing a bunch of emojis to convey how excited he is.
James and Wade were teammates on the Heat from 2010 to 2014, with James joining the franchise as a free agent after one of the most controversial moves in NBA history. LeBron teamed up with former Finals MVP Wade and perennial All-Star Chris Bosh to form a big three to stack championships in Miami.
While the trio played together for just four seasons, they made the NBA Finals each season and won two rings. What James did for the franchise is jersey-retirement-worthy, but Wade’s achievements on the Heat are so significant that he is widely considered the greatest Heat player of all time, even with James being a more productive player during their shared time in the franchise.
Wade brought the Heat their first-ever NBA Championship in 2006, years before LeBron and Bosh got to the team. He was the Finals MVP for that improbable title run and solidified himself as one of the team’s most enduring icons.
The fact he retired on the Heat after a small stint away further completes his legacy as the greatest legend the franchise has ever had.
Wade averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists over his 15 seasons with the Heat. He made 13 All-Star teams and eight All-NBA teams in that stretch. He was unfortunate to not win a league MVP to follow up his 2006 Finals MVP, but he did win a total of three rings with the Heat.
Dwyane Wade Recruited LeBron And Bosh To Get Success For The Heat
Many people criticize LeBron while praising Wade for the pair teaming up, which makes little sense given Wade was the one who pushed for the 2003 Draft classmates to team up together. He freely spoke about the same on Carmelo Anthony’s ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast.
“I wanted those Larry O’Brien trophies, man. I already had done and I knew that feeling like, ‘I gotta get that again man.’ And so I knew that it was the best moment in my career to put myself in that position again. LeBron is an amazing player and you have to work around him to work with him.”
“But nobody wanted it. My team didn’t want it, my family didn’t want it — they were pissed. Bron’s team didn’t want it. No one wanted that to happen. The game of basketball didn’t want it to happen. So I made sure I linked myself to LeBron because I knew we had to be so tight or it was gonna be a failure.”
Wade maximized the success he could have in his career and will forever be linked with one of the game’s greats in LeBron. But regardless of what James achieves over his career, Miami will always be Dwyane Wade’s city.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
