The class of 2003 is arguably the greatest Draft class in NBA history. The game’s greatest prodigy, LeBron James would be the first pick, followed by Carmelo Anthony at 3, Chris Bosh at 4th, and Dwyane Wade at 5th. However, the latest of the four would be the first to win a ring. With Shaquille O’Neal by his side, a 24-year-old DWade would lead the Miami Heat to its first-ever championship in 2006. On its 17th anniversary, ‘The Flash’ has shared some of the memories of his only Finals MVP run.
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It wasn’t O’Neal who was leading that Heat squad. The Big Aristotle tried and failed at it in 2004-05 when Wade was a sophomore in the league. O’Neal gave the 6ft 4in guard the reins of the franchise, making it one of the best decisions of his 19-year NBA career.
Dwyane Wade reminisces about the 2006 championship
Exactly 17 years ago, Dwyane Wade led Miami to a sensational comeback after going down 2-0 in the Finals. In his latest Instagram stories, the former two-guard shared some memories of the 2006 Championship, wherein his Heat defeated Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks by four games to two.
‘What are NBA Celebs Upto‘ shared glimpses of those stories on Twitter.
Dwyane Wade reminisces about his first Championship pic.twitter.com/bwDlUDI62J
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) June 21, 2023
The “24 years young” Wade would be the last NBA player to lead an NBA team to a championship in his rookie contract. That record might stand unmatched for a while. After all, it isn’t a feat just anyone can achieve. And of course, in this day and age where even young players are waiting to get off their rookie deals to team up with others, it’s hard to imagine anyone ever achieving this again.
Shaquille O’Neal didn’t hand the reins to DWade on his own
With a 3x Finals MVP leading them into the 2005 Playoffs, the Heat fell short in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were handed a 4-3 defeat by the defending NBA champs, the Detroit Pistons.
In the off-season, the Heat would acquire legendary two-way point guard Gary Payton and a few others to better themselves. Knowing O’Neal, one can imagine his desperation to prove himself on the big stage again.
However, Payton somehow convinced him against making the same mistake he made with Bryant. Instead, he talked O’Neal down to becoming the ‘1B’, and watching where Wade would take them. Listen to his thoughts on the matter in the YouTube clip by ‘The Volume‘ below.
For those wondering what happened next, the result was an NBA championship.
