4 basketball moves that players can learn from Dwyane Wade
It is sad to see one of the greatest shooting guards of all time hang his boots. Having said that, as a basketball fan it brings me joy to witness "One Last Dance".
Wade has a very impressive resume with three championships and a Finals MVP. He also has a scoring title. While these accolades are great, what makes Wade special is the bag of tricks which he has perfected over his career.
Wade was very athletic in his prime which made him unstoppable on many occasions. Injuries would go on to slow Wade down, but he would still be very effective. A lot of that goes down to footwork and skill which he has worked on to perfection.
In this article, I talk about four moves that other basketball players can learn and master from Dwyane Wade.
1.Euro Step
Manu Ginobili made the Euro Step popular and Wade took it to another level. With his nuclear athleticism, it was almost impossible to stop.
James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even bigs like Joel Embiid are a few players who have adopted the Euro Step.
Wade has been very versatile with his Euro Step. He has gone on to dunk it after the Euro and has also used it from almost the free throw line to settle for a jumper. Added to that, when driving from the right, Wade has added the windmill to the Euro to make it more convincing and deadly.
2. Pump Fake
Wade should have a patent on the pump fake.
He is, in my opinion, the best player in the league at the pump fake. Wade usually sells his pump fake by attempting and making a couple of mid-range jumpers. This puts the defence on alert. He follows that by the pump fake and defenders tend to jump. Wade then goes on to draw contact and heads to the free throw line. Also, the famous Miami number 3 really sells the pump fake with his eyes and footwork, and while that sounds easy, it is far from it.
3. Post Up Combo
Wade has worked on his post-up game over the years. He usually likes to post up on the left side of the court.
He often fades away by from the defender by using his right foot as a pivot and shoots above the defender's shoulder. This often gets the defender alert and he starts looking for the fadeaway. Then Dwyane follows it by fading away and keeping his right foot planted. He will pump fake and then move his left foot inside towards the hoop for an open jumper. A deadly move.
4. Off the ball movement
Wade is not a great three-point shooter. This can be a liability but a future Hall of Fame member like him tries to prevent it from being one by his off the ball movement. Off Ball cuts, back cuts and curl cuts are very effective when used correctly and Wade is a master of them.
LeBron James usually plays well when his team is full of great three-point shooters. Wade was not a great shooter, yet he was LeBron's best teammate. One of the reasons for this was due to Wade's off-ball activity.
There are a lot of other moves in Wade's arsenal which players can try to adopt but these 4 are the easiest as a lot of his moves require athleticism and experience which cannot be gained easily
Also Read: Who are Dwyane Wade’s Kids?