There are many perks to being a top tier pro athlete — fame, money, hobnobbing with the rich and the famous. But there is also a brutal downside the savage toll that it takes on the body. And no one knows this better than Dwyane Wade, arguably one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.
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Wade spent 16 punishing years in the NBA. And while he cherishes the memories of his Hall of Fame career, he’s glad that retirement meant the constant physical pain that he had to deal with virtually throughout is finally a thing of the past.
Of course, Flash — as Wade was dubbed by former teammate Shaquille O’Neal — is not the only elite athlete who’s had to play through pain and discomfort. In fact, so heavy are the demands on such stars that this becomes second nature to them. Michael Jordan dropping 38 points against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals wouldn’t have been as iconic as it is if he hadn’t been suffering from food poisoning. The legendary “Flu Game” is one of the greatest stories of grit and determination.
Throughout his playing days, Wade had had to deal with several occasions when he had to give his 100%, even when he wasn’t feeling 100%. Despite that, he always pushed his limits and performed for his team. During an interview with REVOLVE in October 2024, when asked, “What don’t you miss about being a professional basketball player?”, all those memories came flooding back.
“They always say, ‘What do you miss?’ No one says, ‘What don’t you miss?’ I do not miss the way my body felt. It was days when I would get out of bed, just pain, from the toe all the way up to the mental,” the three-time NBA Champion said, adding that there were days when he didn’t know how he mustered up the strength to play back-to-back games.
“You go through surgeries, you go through concussions, you go through a lot of physical and mental pain. So, I do not, do not, wanna ever feel that again,” he concluded.
Throughout his career, Wade battled numerous injuries and underwent multiple surgeries. One of the most significant was his 2002 shoulder surgery during his college years at Marquette, which threatened to derail his NBA dream. The Miami legend had another shoulder surgery in 2007. In the years that followed, he went through a couple of knee surgeries, which impacted his longevity.
The Hall of Famer, despite being one of the most accomplished athletes in the league, believes that his career would’ve been on another level if it weren’t for the surgeries. During a conversation with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay, he was asked, “What’s D-Wade’s numbers?”, if the injuries had never happened.
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He said, “You doing your GOAT conversation with me.” Wade said that if one takes away the injuries, he could still be in the league. His claim didn’t come off as exaggerated because even though age would slow him down a bit, he still could’ve played a few more years after 2019.
