Kyrie Irving has gained wide recognition as one of the most skilled players the NBA has ever seen. His terrifying mix of crossovers, body feints, and near-impossible layups have wowed fans since he was drafted #1 in 2011. However, a video online shows Irving crediting Dwyane Wade for one of the moves in his bag.
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The move, an overhead swing step into a layup, was a signature of Wade’s throughout his career. Having worked on it tirelessly, Wade’s mastery over the maneuver was on full display in the early 2010s, when the Miami Heat were dominating the NBA. The beauty of this move lay in its simplicity. If a defender was aware the overhead was coming, Wade would simply keep the ball close to his chest, and euro-step the defender into an easy layup.
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The Flash managed to create many highlight plays using his tricky movements. But after the video of Irving went viral, Wade revealed he learned this move from his father, Dwyane Wade Sr. He shared the Instagram video to his stories, tagging Irving and captioned it, “I got it from my pops.”
Wade on his IG pic.twitter.com/RXaDheqRKF
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) October 21, 2024
This does not come as a surprise. Wade has never shied away from his father’s influence on his basketballing career, as he was his first coach. They are very close. The Heat legend even brought his father on stage during his Hall of Fame induction. He famously proclaimed, “We in the Hall of Fame dawg!”
Wade’s euro step was so lethal that even Gilbert Arenas, who famously hated playing against him, could only admire the move. In a September episode of Gil’s Arena, the former Wizards All-Star was asked about the difference between Manu Ginobili’s euro and Wade’s. Arenas said,
“Ginobili’s was really good because it wasn’t seen then. DWade’s was sharper right, it was crisp. He’s coming at you full speed. When he made Kevin Garnett do a 360 on a eurostep? I’ll rank it 1.”
Dwyane Wade’s eurostep or Manu Ginobli’s eurostep? 🤔
Gilbert Arenas says D Wade has the best euro of all time 😳
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/ZTajmYULmm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 19, 2024
The euro in question came in the 2011 playoffs when the Heat hosted the Celtics. The Heat had a narrow 3-point lead with 33 seconds left in the 2nd quarter, and Wade was coming downhill at Garnett. He eurostepped the 2004 MVP, completely turning him around, and finished the basket with an easy uncontested layup. It is plain to see that Dwyane Wade had a killer euro step move, with simplicity being key.
