Top 7 Moments of Dwyane Wade's Incredible Career
By Liam McKeone
Dwyane Wade will play his final game at the American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. Wade will be remembered as one of the best players of this generation, the best player out of the legendary 2003 draft class not named LeBron James, and arguably one of the three best shooting guards of all time.
Here are the seven best moments from Wade over the course of a prolific 16-year career.
7. The Big Three Welcome Party
The moment when Wade, LeBron, and Chris Bosh were introduced as members of the same team had huge implications, not just for Wade, but the NBA as a whole. The first Big 3 to ever have been formed via free agency, shaped the paths of future superstars like Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis.
This all led to the beginning of the Heat’s four straight championship series runs, including LeBron’s first title. LeBron and Wade’s careers were linked from the moment they were both drafted in 2003, and their decision to join forces helped Wade win two more championships and changed the course of the league forever.
6. Wade scores a career-high 55 vs. the Knicks in Miami
This game was Peak Dwyane Wade at the height of his powers in 2009. He simply went on a rampage, dropping his career-high in points on a ridiculous 19-of-30 from the field and 6-of-12 from deep. It was, at its core, vintage Wade, and the best individual performance of his career.
5. Wade dunks all over Varejo
This is, hands down, the best dunk of Wade’s career, and one of those slams that always lingers in your memory, no matter how long ago it happened.
Wade almost jogged from one end of the court to the other, then exploded in the lane and jammed all over Cavs center Anderson Varejao, giving himself a career highlight and a strong contender for best dunk of the decade. For good measure, he summoned the shade of Allen Iverson and stepped over Varejao after the fact.
4. Wade sinks wild game-winner over the Warriors
Wade couldn’t go out in his final season without giving us at least one crazy ending. Going wire-to-wire with the reigning champion Warriors, the Heat, decked out in their fresh Miami Vice jerseys, battled back and forth, with the game ultimately coming down to one final possession.
Wade tried to get a three up, was blocked, and somehow managed to grab the ball and throw it up as time expired. His shot banks in, and mayhem ensues in South Beach for one of the unlikeliest victories for the Heat this season. Steph Curry could only smile in disbelief as Wade makes a final victory sprint around his home court.
3. Wade nets the game-winning shot in his playoff debut
Wade made a strong impression as a rookie, but was still a rookie. Everyone knew he was going to be good, maybe even very good as he helped his team into the playoffs after they went 25-57 the year before. His playoff debut showed Miami had a special player on their hands.
With the game tied at 79 against the Hornets in Game 1 of the 2003 playoffs, the ball went to Wade for the final shot. He drove into the lane and nailed a pull-up jumper to give the Heat the win and spur a career’s worth of clutch moments and special plays.
2. “This is my house!”
If there was any one sequence of plays that encapsulated Dwyane Wade as a player, it occurred on March 9th, 2009. Wade dropped 48 points, 12 assists, and 6 rebounds but still found his team tied with time ticking away in overtime. John Salmons drove into the lane for the Bulls, but Wade snatched the ball right out of his hands, sprinted up-court as only Flash could, and swished a running 3-pointer as time expired.
Wade jumped on the announcer’s table and announced to the world that the American Airlines Center was his house, topping off a signature moment in his career.
1. Wade wins his first championship in the 2006 NBA Finals
Wade announced himself to the basketball world prior to the 2006 Finals, but his performance in the final games was the moment he was heralded as a superstar. Wade made it to the Finals with the help of Shaq, on the back end of his prime, but the Heat wouldn’t have come away with the title without Wade. He averaged 34 points throughout the series, including performances of 43 and 42 points before putting up 36 points and 10 rebounds to clinch his first title and his only Finals MVP trophy.
From that moment on, Wade’s name couldn’t be omitted from the upper echelon of players in the 21st century, and will remain the signature series of his career.