Dwyane Wade accomplished a lot on his own during his Hall of Fame NBA career, but playing alongside an all-time great early on certainly helped. Wade shared the court with Shaquille O’Neal for four seasons in Miami, with the dynamic duo bringing the Heat a championship together in 2006. While not best friends, Shaq did have a major influence over Wade’s career, something The Flash spoke about in a 2020 interview with GQ.
Advertisement
Despite being a phenomenal baller and a fashion icon, Wade admittedly used to be quite shy. “I used to be very quiet,” he said in the interview at the time. Fortunately, if there was one player in the world who could teach Wade how to break out of his shell, it would be Shaq.
“The greatest thing he did for me was show me who I was destined to be,” Wade revealed. He explained that it was Shaq that helped him come up with the Flash moniker. “He made me think about marketing myself, and he built this Flash character in me. When I’m home I’m Dad, I’m Dwyane. But on the court, I’m Flash,” he stated.
Wade credits O’Neal with being a huge influence on his development as a player. The on court product was never a question, but it was the lessons Wade learned from Shaq that later brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami.
At the end of the day, Wade was destined to find success in basketball due to his insane drive from his rough childhood. That said, the Heat legend himself credited Shaq for playing a major role in that success, both in the game and outside the game. “He helped me really find my destiny in the game of basketball and find myself, away from it.”
Shaq publicly acknowledging Wade boosted to his confidence
Sometimes respect is bigger than winning a ring. Several NBA legends who never got to be champions still have a commanding presence on what makes a player great. Shaq won four rings, but even if he didn’t, his acknowledgment of talent would mean just as much.
The Diesel had publicly praised Wade on numerous occasions, calling him one of the best guards in the history of the league. This meant the world to Wade, who went on to win two more championships after O’Neal retired from the NBA in 2011.
Even though he was gone, the lessons Shaq taught stuck with the now 43-year-old baller. During a 2024 interview on Angel Reese’s podcast, he revealed that he tried to mimic “The Diesel” when he became a veteran in the league.
“When I became a vet, same thing. I get any deal, I’m making sure that all my teammates get a chance to have it because I’m not playing an individual sport.”
Wade and Shaq remain vital voices in today’s league thanks to their influential podcasts and ideologies of the game.
