Early in life, it’s far from unusual for children to look up to their parents in everything they do. Oftentimes, a parent’s actions directly reflect the type of person their child will become. Dwyane Wade proved he was no different when he opened up about who motivated him as a kid.
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The Heat legend revealed that he looked up to his father throughout his early childhood: a military man, Wade explained how his father was everything he wanted to be for a while. The 13-time All-Star shared that his father was 6-foot-2 with broad shoulders and liked to dabble in all athletics, not just basketball.
Wade shared that he never developed an interest in basketball until his father made him try out the sport. Soon after, the future superstar became a basketball fanatic. However, it was the exciting play from Michael Jordan and his hometown Chicago Bulls that made Wade realize who he wanted to be, not his father.
As a result, the Bulls icon somewhat took over as Wade’s motivation. He praised his father for the job he did raising him and helping him become a multi-faceted person, but it was MJ who made him realize his destiny. If not for the Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s, it’s possible Wade would never have fallen in love with the game.
“I was like ‘That’s who I wanna be like now. Move over, Dad. Move out the way, Pops.'” Wade said after watching Jordan perform. “Once I saw Michael Jordan, and just his grace… just the way he stayed in the air… and they were winning. Once the Bulls won a championship in 1990-91, I felt like a winner.”
D-Wade is in the unique position of having watched arguably the greatest player of all time growing up then later playing alongside his closest competition in LeBron James. However, Wade’s childhood memories of watching Chicago dominate their way to six championships made a lasting impact on the 43-year-old, influencing his opinion in the GOAT debate.
Dwyane Wade named Michael Jordan as his GOAT
Dwyane Wade won two championships with possibly the best version of LeBron in Miami, but the three-time champion made his choice in the GOAT debate clear during his Hall of Fame induction. As a Chicago native, it would’ve been difficult for Wade to name anyone other than Michael Jordan.
“My GOAT has always been Michael Jordan,” Wade said “… Look at the way I played. I played a lot like [Jordan]. I tried to emulate Michael Jordan.” Wade didn’t quite reach the heights that MJ did, but he was one of the most explosive and entertaining guards in the NBA for over a decade.
Undoubtedly a top-five shooting guard of all time, Wade accomplished nearly everything he could have dreamed of in the league. That likely wouldn’t have been the case without MJ’s influence from afar.
