Dwyane Wade has accomplished a wide array of feats throughout his illustrious NBA career. After so many years, Wade finally put the Miami Heat back on the map and led the team to its first NBA championship in franchise history. He won two more titles with the Heat after LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined his squad in 2010, but according to “Flash,” his first championship in 2006 holds a special place in his heart.
For D-Wade, that championship run was his favorite among the three simply because he knew he was the man in charge. Wade believes that nobody could ever slight his legacy right after that moment.
“2006. It’s the first, and individually, I had a lot to do with it. [Laughs.],” Wade told the Miami Herald. “But it was the first for the organization. Every player comes in, and everybody doesn’t have the same goals. But I had a goal, I wanted to be known as a champion. And at 24 years old in 2006, I got a chance to accomplish that. No matter what happened for the rest of my career, I checked that one off my list, and I did it as a lead actor, as well. That meant something to me.”
D-Wade preaches about the importance of taking the lead role
Wade fully understood what James’ arrival meant. At the time, D-Wade was at the peak of his prowess, but he knew that ego had no place in the Heat culture. This mentality allowed The Flash to take the backseat without a problem, and as most of us witnessed, Miami got the results they wanted.
The Heat ended up winning back-to-back NBA championships with LeBron in the frontline. Wade was happy despite being the second fiddle to The King which speaks volumes about his maturity as a player. Looking back at how it went full circle, D-Wade realized that the back-to-back would still be part of his legacy, but from a competitive standpoint, nothing is sweeter than winning as the “lead actor” of your team.
“For all the basketball heads out there, all the things I knew about the game, you had to be a lead actor to be in this class that I’m in now,” Wade explained. “So, for my career, that meant something, and I was able to accomplish that with some great players that I grew up admiring and watching. So, 2006 definitely will go down as my favorite child of all my trophies.”
D-Wade’s favorite non-championship moment with the Heat
Like any other NBA superstar, Wade also had a memorable rookie year. Apart from the Heat’s 2006 NBA championship run, Dwyane also treasures the bond he had alongside the veterans in Miami during his rookie season.
For Wade, it felt as if his entire rookie year with the Heat was special just because of the fact that nobody in the team was fake and they all shared the same thirst and battle cry.
“Just my whole rookie year,” Wade said when asked what was his favorite non-championship moment in Miami. “That team my rookie year with Lamar [Odom] and Caron [Butler] and Rafer Alston, Brian Grant, Eddie Jones, Loren Woods, Jerome Beasley, Udonis. Just going with those guys in the beginning, when it was just pure.”
The Heat GOAT
Pat Riley once anointed Wade as the greatest Heat player of all time. D-Wade doesn’t take pleasure in tooting his own horn, but for him, Riley was on point when he said that.
The way Wade sliced it, the Heat culture is not for all players, as it requires selflessness, accountability, and a winning mentality. And while Miami was able to house a handful of stars who fit the bill, the legendary guard is confident that nobody else sacrificed more than he did for the success of the franchise.
“He’s right,” Wade said of Riley’s comment. “I played there for almost 15 years. I put on for that city, and I gave everything to the community, I gave everything to the game, I sacrificed everything that I could to make sure that we reach the levels that we wanted to reach. It’s no slight to anybody.”
True indeed, Wade played his guts out for the Heat on a nightly basis, season after season. After having some brief stints with the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers, D-Wade made an emphatic return to Miami in 2017 to give his legendary career a very fitting farewell.
From championships to historic moments, it’s safe to say that what Wade has done for the Heat as a player was beyond compare. Off the court, “Flash” also did his part. He served as a great locker room presence and provided mentorship for guys like Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. For that, it’s no surprise that whenever hoops fans talk about the Heat, the first thing that comes to their mind is D-Wade.
