Most basketball players growing up in the late ’80s and ’90s had their eyes fixated on great basketball players such as Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. For NBA legend Dwyane Wade, this was no different.
Wade entered the league in 2003 when he was selected by the Miami Heat with the fifth overall pick in the draft. He was on a team that was led by veteran Eddie Jones and the two of them were at a casino in Puerto Rico where Jones took Wade to meet up with his idol, Iverson.
Wade joined The Adam Lefkoe Show and he told the story saying:
I remember we got to Puerto Rico, I’m a rookie, and we walked in and where we’re staying at we;ve got this big casino in our hotel and Eddie Jones was like ‘Yo, young fella come with me’. Eddie Jones was my veteran at the time so I go with Eddie Jones and we go to one of the tables that Allen Iverson was sitting at and he knew Allen Iverson was one of my favorite players, so he wanted to introduce me…Iverson’s gambling and I’m standing right there the whole time. And he threw me a $1,000 chip and was like, ‘Yo, go play this, young fella.’ So I played $500, and I put the other $500 in my pocket, because I didn’t have money like that at the time.
.@DwyaneWade on the time he met Allen Iverson at a casino as a rookie:
“He threw me a $1,000 chip and was like, ‘Yo, go play this, young fella.’ So I played $500, and I put the other $500 in my pocket.”
True OG 🤣
(via @LefkoeShow) pic.twitter.com/Q3wrubw93u
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 5, 2020
Any Sixer fan knows about Iverson’s propensity to spend his time at casinos so this is not a surprise for them. It does go to show how big of a heart he has to just throw a rookie a quick $1,000.
Iverson and Wade and had some classic battles on the basketball court throughout the years. In fact, Wade made his debut in Philadelphia against Iverson in 2003. He scored 18 points, but Iverson had 26 and 11 assists and he led the Sixers to an 89-74 victory in the season opener for both teams. [lawrence-related id=28904,28886,28879]