“That Dude Was Like Flash!”: 4 Days Away from Dwyane Wade’s Hall of Fame Induction, Footage of Shaquille O’Neal Nicknaming Him Resurfaces

Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal formed one of the most underrated duos in the history of the NBA after the Diesel moved to South Beach in 2004. Wade was drafted by the Heat in 2003, and the two went on to win the franchise’s first-ever NBA Championship in 2006. During that time, Shaq saw Wade go from a young prospect to a reliable leader who everyone on the team could trust. In fact, he was the one who gave the Heat legend the nickname, ‘Flash’. Now, ahead of Wade’s induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame, the big man’s explanation behind the name has once again caught the attention of the NBA community.

Having given Dwyane Wade his ‘Flash’ moniker, ‘the Big Diesel’ is often considered the king of nicknames. Having at least 34 nicknames of his own, as per Sports Nostalgia HQ, Shaq is also famously responsible for Paul Pierce’s nickname, ‘The Truth’. Aside from his own nicknames like ‘Shaq’, ‘Shaq Fu’, ‘The Big Shaqtus’, and ‘The Big Aristotle’, the Lakers legend is responsible for giving some of the most iconic sobriquets of all time.

Shaquille O’Neal once explained his reasoning behind the name, ‘The Flash’

Shaquille O’Neal has been a supporter of Dwyane Wade since his initial days in the league. However, the big man was left awe-struck once he really understood just how quick Wade was. Explaining how this inspired the Heat legend’s now-iconic nickname, here is what O’Neal said, as seen in the tweet by NBA History.

“First thing we had to do, was get people to notice who he is. I was looking at him, and he stole the ball, and he ‘woosh’ took off. I’m like, ‘Damn! Did you see that? That dude was like Flash!’. Ding! That’s what we’re going to call him. ‘Flash’. See, you always have to have an alter ego. See, on the regular he is ‘Dwyane Wade’. He could go 1 for 13, but once he hits that one bucket, then he turns into Flash.”

This wasn’t the only time O’Neal explained the story behind Dwyane Wade’s nickname. During a different interview, here is how Shaq explained the incident.

“Dwyane Wade reminds me of a superhero movie where a kid grows up, and he does all these weird things, and he does not know he has the power until he meets a powerful figure, and they tell him, ‘Hey, you just like me.’”

O’Neal is clearly beyond proud of the player he named ‘the Flash’. And when he gets inducted into ‘The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’ on August 12th, 2023, it is likely he will be there to witness it all happen before his two eyes.

Wade initially wasn’t fond of his nickname

Today, Dwyane Wade likely feels beyond honored to have been given the nickname, ‘The Flash’. However, he once admitted that when he first got it, he wasn’t too fond of it. Take a look at the clip in this tweet by ‘NBA on TNT‘ below, to know his initial thoughts on the matter.

Admittedly, there aren’t many nicknames better than the one Wade earned from Shaquille O’Neal. Fortunately, after being referred to by the moniker over the course of his 16 years in the NBA, Wade has grown to love it.