Dwyane Wade honored by Hall of Fame after legendary career
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Dwyane Wade celebrates after a win at home in his final season in the NBA in 2019. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Few superstars are able to win an NBA championship, let alone three. Even fewer can say Jay-Z rapped their name on a hit record — twice.
- On and off the court, Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade has done it all. Come Saturday night, he can add "Hall of Famer" to his legendary resume.
Why it matters: Wade is being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts, joining an exclusive club of 400 athletes and other contributors who made an "indelible impact" on the sport across generations.
- Wade's influence — on the city of Miami, the business world and pop culture — stretches far beyond the four corners of a basketball court.
- Miami-Dade County, nicknamed Wade County by fans, renamed a portion of the street outside the Heat's arena Dwyane Wade Boulevard.
- Wade started a wine company, hosts a game show on TBS and owns a minority stake in the Utah Jazz.
- And the public support he and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, have shown for their transgender daughter, Zaya, has inspired many.
Yes, but: He is also arguably one of the best shooting guards in NBA history, behind just Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.
- Heat president Pat Riley said this week that Wade is the best player to ever wear a Heat jersey, and that includes LeBron James.
By the numbers: Wade, whose No. 3 was retired by the Heat in 2021, is the franchise's all-time leader in points, assists, games played and … almost everything else.
- Apart from his three championships and one Finals MVP, Wade also led the NBA in scoring in 2008 and propelled the USA men's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal earlier that year. (He and James executive-produced a Netflix documentary about the Olympics, called "The Redeem Team.")
What they're saying: Wade reflected this week on what it means to go from being a kid from Chicago dreaming about playing in the NBA to being honored as one of the greatest ever.
- He said on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" that he was already having an "out-of-body experience" just thinking about it.
- "This does not happen every day to a kid like myself growing up in the community I did," Wade said. "So this is for all of us."