Dwyane Wade’s father played a vital role in shaping his Hall-of-Fame basketball career. However, the 3x champ learned an important lesson from Dwyane Wade Sr. that not only helped him succeed on the basketball court but beyond it as well. During the recent Qualtrics X4 Summit, Wade delivered a poignant speech where he gave props to his father for using basketball as a tool to teach him about life itself.
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The Miami Heat legend turned the attention to his 2023 Hall-of-Fame Enshrinement speech, in which he acknowledged Dwyane Wade Sr. as his first coach. While teaching the Xs and Os of basketball, his father inculcated values that helped him succeed in every sphere of life.
Wade was taught how to become an NBA champion at a young age. He was well aware of the toil and hardship required to be worthy of becoming a Champion.
The three-time NBA Champion said,
“Dwyane Wade Sr., pops was my first coach. He began teaching me the fundamentals of basketball when I was five. Then over the next several years, he drilled it into me.”
“I came to understand, that Pops wasn’t simply teaching me about the game of basketball. He was teaching me about the game of life. The discipline, the dedication, the commitment to excellence required to be a champion,” Wade added.
The former Heat superstar also hailed his father for teaching him about the value of leadership. Wade understood that as a leader, he was not just representing himself, but his community, his organization, and his family too.
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The speech shows just how much D-Wade values the contribution of his father in his formative years. During his 2023 Hall-of-Fame Enshrinement ceremony, the 2006 Finals MVP closed out his acceptance speech by bringing his father to the stage.
He credited his father for always testing his boundaries so that he became battle-hardened for his pro-hoops journey. The 13x All-Star gave his dad props for competing against him with full force which had long-term benefits.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to repay. When I would cry and said I can’t, you made me go harder. You pushed me to limits that I didn’t know were inside of me. The hard work I put in was because I didn’t want to let you down. Those countless hours in the backyard, we’d compete against each other like strangers, it built me to last.”
Pops also proudly watched the success of his son. During an episode of Raising Fame, Wade Sr. recalled the cinematic experience of witnessing fans flooding the Miami Heat’s Home Arena with ‘Wade’ jerseys.
The dedicated father was overcome with emotions after seeing such a spectacular sight for the first time. He reminisced,
“When I first came to Miami and I went to the first game. I was walking across the street, right close to the stadium and like hundreds and hundred people had Wade on their back. I was like, ‘Yo that’s me’. It was like being in a movie.”
Therefore, the Wade father-son duo had the rare opportunity to live their hoops dream together. While Wade Sr. couldn’t make it to the pros, he still got to see his name ring loud in the annals of basketball.
