"Mike was on his way out...that's when I paid attention to D-Wade" - Shaquille O'Neal on his first impression of Dwyane Wade
Shaquille O'Neal played with Dwyane Wade for three and a half seasons, winning one NBA championship in 2006. O'Neal has now opened up about his first impression of Wade, who entered the league in 2003 along with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh.
The four-time NBA champion answered fan questions in the Bleacher Report AMA on Tuesday. One of the fans asked O'Neal what his first impression of Wade was. He replied that he didn't really pay attention to everyone during his playing days till he saw Wade in the playoffs as a rookie.
"When I played, I never paid attention to who is who because I'm trying to get that spot. Mike was on his way out. There was room for somebody to be that face, and I always wanted to be that face. I wasn't really worried about other guys, and then we got swept in the playoffs," O'Neal said.
Shaq hits ahead to D.Wade for the #NBAXmas SLAM! #NBABreakdown https://t.co/oI0CuEv3qo
"Watching basketball, Baron Davis was always one of my favorite players, but I see this young kid give Baron Davis the business, and that's when I paid attention to D-Wade. So now when it was time for me to get traded, I didn't want to start over at 30. D-Wade was probably the best choice that I got at the time," O'Neal added.
As pointed out by O'Neal, the league in the early 2000s was looking for the next star, after Michael Jordan retired in 2003. After Jordan exited, a bunch of young players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh showed up. Wade had the most team success out of the four during their rookie season, with the Heat advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
However, it was Kobe Bryant who took the mantle from Jordan as the best player in the league at the time. Despite Bryant becoming a better player, O'Neal demanded a trade and landed in Miami. He teamed up with Wade to win the Heat's first NBA title in franchise history.
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade back to being 'teammates'
Both Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade have retired from basketball, but are back as teammates on television. O'Neal and Wade are now part of the NBA on TNT's new crew every Tuesday night, alongside Adam Lefkoe and Candace Parker.
O'Neal has been doing this kind of work for more than a decade, while Wade only joined TNT in 2019.
🤢 @SHAQ https://t.co/un0GDRSVa5
It's still not on par with the original crew every Thursday consisting of O'Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson, but the new one has had some funny moments.