Tag: Dwyane Wade

D’Angelo Russell recreated iconic LeBron James-Dwyane Wade dunk photo

D’Angelo Russell paid tribute to a memorable dunk by LeBron James off an assist from Dwyane Wade that resulted in an iconic photo.

Back in 2010, when LeBron James took his talents to the Miami Heat, he teamed with Dwyane Wade to create one of the better superstar tandems in NBA history. In four seasons together, they reached the NBA Finals four times while winning back-to-back world championships in 2012 and 2013.

Early in their time together, they worked together on a fast break versus the Milwaukee Bucks that resulted in an iconic photo. Wade led the break down the middle, and James filled the lane to the right, got the pass and threw down a thunderous dunk while Wade exulted.

Morry Gash shot the photo that became somewhat timeless.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Philadelphia 76ers, and D’Angelo Russell looked to recreate that photo during an easy score by James.

The Lakers ended up winning an ugly grind-it-out affair 101-94 to improve to 38-32 on the season. While they’re still in ninth place in the Western Conference, the victory gave them a 1 1/2-game cushion over the 10th-place Golden State Warriors.

On this date: Kobe Bryant hits iconic game-winner over Dwyane Wade

On Dec. 4, 2009, Kobe Bryant hit one of his most memorable game-winning shots in the face of Heat legend Dwyane Wade.

Just over a decade ago, Kobe Bryant finally won an NBA championship without Shaquille O’Neal. But he wasn’t done. He headed into the 2009-10 season looking for his fifth ring, as well as one earned by beating the Boston Celtics, the hated rivals who had dispatched L.A. in the 2008 NBA Finals.

The Lakers started the new campaign in red-hot fashion, but there were some younger stars coming for Bryant’s place as the best player in the world. One of them was Dwyane Wade, whose game and mentality were very much like Bryant’s.

The Lakers hosted Wade’s Miami Heat on Dec. 4, and in the closing seconds, they trailed 106-102 and looked done. A 3-pointer by Derek Fisher allowed the Lakers to pull to within one, 106-105. Wade then made just one of two free throws off an intentional foul with 3.2 ticks remaining.

Bryant took the ensuing inbounds pass, and while drifting to his left, he banked in a 3-pointer for the win over Wade as time expired.

Bryant finished with 33 points, while Wade was held to 7-of-21 shooting. The win improved L.A.’s record to 15-3, and it was a reminder to men such as Wade, LeBron James and Kevin Durant that the Black Mamba wasn’t ready to relinquish his throne atop the NBA yet.

Dwyane Wade makes hole-in-one at Pebble Beach on iconic 7th hole

Add Dwyane Wade to the list of former athletes who have been bitten by the golf bug.

As if being a three-time NBA champion, 13-time All-Star and one of the greatest shooting guards of all time wasn’t enough, Dwyane Wade had to go and get good at golf, too.

Showoff.

That may sound harsh, but as a lifetime golfer I’m still without a legitimate hole-in-one. The 41-year-old Wade, who had a 16-year Hall of Fame career on the court, already has me beat on the course after his recent trip to Pebble Beach.

Wade made a hole-in-one on the picturesque and far-from-easy par-3 7th hole at Pebble Beach this weekend and is now “locked in for life” when it comes to golf. We don’t blame him!

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Wade played 14 of his 16 seasons in the NBA with the Miami Heat, where he won three titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. He also won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2008 and was selected as a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

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Dwayne Wade says LeBron James robbed him of an MVP

Dwyane Wade says he, and not LeBron James, should’ve been named the regular season MVP for the 2008-09 season.

In the late 2000s, there was a hot debate about whether the best basketball player in the world was Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. At that time, Bryant was royalty. He led the Los Angeles Lakers to back-to-back NBA championships while putting up his usual stellar numbers.

But James put up even better numbers for the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading some to believe he had surpassed the Black Mamba, especially since he was named the regular season MVP in 2009 and 2010.

At the same time, Dwyane Wade was playing at an unreal level for the Miami Heat. He averaged 30.2 points, which led the league, 5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots a game during the 2008-09 campaign, yet he finished third in the MVP balloting behind James and Bryant.

Wade told Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe on “Club Shay Shay” that he, and not James, should’ve won the award that year (h/t The Sports Rush).

“Of course,” said Wade when asked if he should’ve been named the MVP in 2009. “But I also understand why LeBron won it. I think they won 67 games and he averaged roughly the same. Like I understand it, but as an individual player, that was my MVP year.”

Wade never won an MVP in the regular season, while James took home four such awards. But the Marquette University product did win three world championships, including an NBA Finals MVP award in 2006. Of course, two of those rings came after James took his talents to Miami to team up with Wade.

Wade’s performance in the 2006 championship series rivals that of anyone else in league history, and that includes anything Bryant or James, or for that matter, Michael Jordan, ever did on that stage.

Dwyane Wade: Kobe Bryant’s fifth ring spurred him to form LeBron superteam

Watching Kobe Bryant win his fifth NBA championship made Dwyane Wade spring into action and get LeBron James to join him in Miami.

Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals was one of the most triumphant games and moments in Los Angeles Lakers history. They fell behind by 13 early in the fourth quarter at home to their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, and to that point, Kobe Bryant had turned in one of his worst games ever.

But just when it looked like the game would be a disaster, Bryant played very well the rest of the way and his teammates followed his lead, resulting in an 83-79 win and the Lakers’ fifth world championship since 2000.

Miami Heat great Dwyane Wade admitted on the “Skweek Show” that once L.A. had clinched the NBA title, he immediately called LeBron James and looked to form a superteam to combat what Bryant and the Lakers had been doing (h/t Sportskeeda).

“I remember cutting my TV off as soon as Kobe ran and grabbed that ball, I like pffft [remotely turning off the TV]. LeBron? (laughs) … So what you gonna do?

“… That was our summer of free agency. They [Lakers] were dominating. Kobe was winning all these rings. I was like, ‘Hold on, now he got five [championships] and we got one?'”

Just a few weeks later, James and Chris Bosh came to the Heat, and just like that, the NBA’s next great team had taken shape.

The Lakers were aging and getting thin, and they weren’t able to return to the finals as constituted. Miami, on the other hand, would reach the championship series in each of the next four seasons, winning it all in 2012 and 2013, giving Wade three rings and James his first two.

James, of course, would help restore Laker mystique by coming to the team in 2018 and getting it banner No. 17 in 2020. With a strong cast around him, he could end up getting his fifth ring, just like Bryant did, this coming season.

Rajon Rondo explains why Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade Bulls team failed

Rajon Rondo recently talked about his time with the Chicago Bulls playing next to Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.

For the better part of the past decade, the Chicago Bulls have been relatively disappointing. They made the playoffs in 2022 but only took one game off the Milwaukee Bucks, meaning the current core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic has just one postseason win in two years.

Before that, and before the rebuild that preceded the current roster, the Bulls had Jimmy Butler. And in their attempt to surround Butler with talent, they created a core three of him, Dwyane Wade, and Rajon Rondo. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to find much success during their time together in Chicago.

During a recent appearance on “The Old Man & The Three with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter,” Rondo spoke about why the Bulls Big 3 failed.

What were your thoughts on the Butler, Wade, Rondo Big 3?

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Top NBA coach compares Anthony Edwards to Dwyane Wade

USA basketball coach compares former Georgia guard Anthony Edwards to NBA legend Dwyane Wade.

Miami Heat head coach and USA basketball assistant coach Erik Spoelstra thinks highly former Georgia Bulldogs basketball guard Anthony Edwards. In fact, Spoelstra has compared Edwards to NBA legend Dwyane Wade.

Spoelstra, who is one of the most well-respected coaches in basketball, coached Dwyane Wade for several seasons. The duo won a pair of NBA titles together with the Miami Heat.

Tom Crean coached both Anthony Edwards and Dwyane Wade in college. He helped develop both players, which is part of the reason why they are similar.

Erik Spoelstra was asked if a USA player reminded him of Dwyane Wade.

It’s hard not to look at Anthony Edwards and see Dwyane Wade in him.

Dwyade Wade is 6-foot-4 and weighs 220 pounds. Anthony Edwards is 6-foot-4 and weighs 225 pounds. The similarities don’t stop there. Both Wade and Edwards are athletic shooting guards. They are both are capable of being the star player and top scorer on their respective teams.

Edwards is having an outstanding campaign with USA basketball. He scored 37 points against Germany on over 60% shooting in the final exhibition before the FIBA World Cup.

Edwards threw down a monster dunk in the win over Germany.

Team USA begins the FIBA World Cup against New Zealand on Aug. 26 at 8:40 a.m. ET.

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Paul Pierce favored by Richard Jefferson over Dwyane Wade to take clutch shots

Say what you will about their overall career arcs in that neverending debate, Jefferson prefers the Truth in the clutch.

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Say what you will about their overall career arcs in that neverending debate over the careers of Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and his fellow Hoops Hall member Dwyane Wade, when it comes to taking clutch shots at the end of a game, for one NBA analyst, there is a clear choice.

Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson recently shared his perspective on that wrinkle of the Pierce – Wade debate on a recent episode of the “Road Trippin'” podcast. “I will say this,” said Jefferson via Boston.com’s Luke Scotchie, “Ball in the hands for a last-second shot, I would probably fear Paul Pierce more than D-Wade.”

“I need a bucket,” he continued. “Down by one, I need a two, down by two, I need a three, tie game, I’m taking Paul Pierce in that situation over D-Wade.”

Lining up with research that suggests The Truth is the most clutch player in the history of the game, we would also take Pierce in such a situation.

Even if we are admittedly biased in such matters here at the Celtics Wire.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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The Bulls were 1 trade away from landing LeBron, Wade, and Bosh

The Chicago Bulls almost had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh come to Chicago.

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This past year, the Chicago Bulls missed out on the playoffs, but two years ago, they snapped a four-year drought and made it back to the postseason. Unfortunately, they only won one game and were eliminated in the first round. The last time Chicago was truly a title contender was when Derrick Rose was leading the way. Prior to that, it was Michael Jordan‘s Bulls.

However, Chicago nearly had another powerhouse at the beginning of the 2010s. Before LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh joined the Miami Heat to form “The Heatles,” they almost teamed up in Chicago instead.

According to KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, if the Bulls had been able to trade Luol Deng to the LA Clippers, the Heat’s Big 3 would have been in Chicago.

“If the Bulls were able to trade Luol Deng to the Clippers, which they had talks about doing, that Big 3 would’ve been in Chicago,” Johnson said on a recent edition of Bulls Talk. “Trust me on that one.”

Had James, Wade, and Bosh come to the Bulls instead of the Heat, the entire course of NBA history would have been changed.

How many titles would they have won in Chicago?

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Dwyane Wade on ‘living rent-free’ in Boston Celtics HoFer Paul Pierce’s head

Wade also reflects on his journey from the Big 3 era to entering the Hall of Fame.

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By now you have likely heard more than a little bit about the seemingly endless war of words between fans of Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce and those of his nemesis on the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade. You may have also heard Pierce’s words on the debate over their careers.

But now we have also heard from Wade himself on this persistent rivalry lasting long after both players have retired from the game as well, with Wade making an appearance on the “Dan LeBatard with Stugotz” show last week to talk on this resurfaced feud. Wade also reflects on his journey from the Big 3 era to entering the Hall of Fame and discusses his growth as a leader and person since his time battling Pierce on the hardwood.

To hear a different wrinkle to the never-ending debate you just can’t seem to get away from, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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