Dwyane Wade credits Shaquille O’Neal for giving him the confidence he needed while on the Miami Heat to be a an all-time great.
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16 years in the NBA did Dwyane Wade good as he ascended into one of the league’s best players in merely his third season in the league, never looking back. He finished his career with a Finals MVP, 3 championships, and countless All-NBA and All-Star selections. His 2008-09 campaign is still lauded as one of the greatest individual seasons of the 2000s.
As mentioned earlier, Dwyane Wade won his first championship in his 3rd season as an NBA player and did so with Shaquille O’Neal firmly in place as the Robin to his Batman. Shaq had just been dealt to the Miami Heat the season prior after the Los Angeles Lakers were essentially forced to choose between him and Kobe Bryant.
The Heat duo, slightly reminiscent of Kobe-Shaq, won the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks after winning 4 straight games, following an 0-2 start to the series. Wade of course, was named the Finals MVP for that year.
Dwyane Wade shows love to Shaquille O’Neal on NBAonTNT after being named to the NBA75 list.
The NBA’s 75th season has become quite the topic of discussion these past few days. This is due to them releasing the names of the best 75 players that have ever played or are playing in the league. Dwyane Wade, unsurprisingly, was named as one of the 75 players on this list.
While on NBAonTNT, Wade acknowledged the honor and subsequently went on to show love to his former Miami Heat teammate, thanking him for giving him confidence during their days together as a duo.
What a ride @DwyaneWade ⚡️pic.twitter.com/pA0VMD9GvZ
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 21, 2021
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, both of whom who were on the NBAonTNT set, were also named to the NBA75 list.