In his 16-season-long NBA career, Dwyane Wade attempted 17,617 field goals. Out of those, he made 8,454 at a 48% accuracy. Different players excel from different positions on the floor. Based on the game they’ve developed since childhood, players know their strengths and weaknesses. So, what was DWade’s weakness?
Advertisement
Even though he is a three-time NBA Champion, 13-time All-Star, and so much more, Wade had his fair share of issues on the floor. Wade witnessed the game transition into becoming three-point shot dominant.
However, he was never really good from long range. The Hall of Famer had nearly 29% three-point shot accuracy. Apart from the distance, there was one more thing that troubled DWade during games. In a segment with WIRED from three years ago, he was asked, “What is the hardest shot in basketball?”
Wade said, “The open shot. Sounds like it would be the easiest.” He immediately clarified that he was only speaking for himself and it wasn’t a generalized answer. “I personally like a contest because a contest allows me to be able to understand how much arc I need to put on the shot. Makes me focus a little bit more,” he explained.
As per the Heat legend, an open look made him “think too much,” which often led to poor accuracy. It’s interesting that a seasoned shooter like him would prefer to have defenders around him in order to shoot the ball with accuracy.
Another interesting question that Wade was asked during the interview was whether he’d prefer a blowout loss by 20 points or a one-point loss due to a buzzer-beater. Hitting a buzzer-beater is one of the toughest things to do on the floor. With time running out and the pressure becoming too heavy on players’ shoulders, it’s difficult to shoot with accuracy.
That’s why Dwyane Wade said he’d prefer losing the game by one point. His reason was, “If you get beat by 20, I mean, you’ve known for a long time the game was over.” A buzzer-beater, on the other hand, gives a sudden result. Witnessing someone hit the buzzer-beater might also help in digesting the loss.
