Was Dwyane Wade's greatest moment one that came off the court?
If we were to quantify Dwyane Wade's greatest moments, many would argue that it was the 2006 NBA Finals when he led the Miami Heat to an NBA Championship. With Dallas leading the series 2–0 and having a 13-point advantage in the fourth quarter, Dwyane Wade took over scoring 12 points in the final six minutes to force overtime and finally win it for Miami. He went on to lead Miami to four straight wins and the NBA title averaging 34.7/7.8/3.8/2.7.
Many would claim that it was his 2009 season when he won the scoring title averaging 30/7.5/5.0 and carried one of the worst Miami Heat teams to the playoffs.
The sacrifice Wade made not only to his game and bank balance, but also to basically play Robin to Batman was immense when he persuaded Lebron to join the Miami Heat. In the 2011 Finals, Dirk was NBA Finals MVP but Dwyane was easily the best player in that series averaging 26.5/7.0/5.2/1.5/1.5 over six games while LeBron averaged 17/8/7.
Also read: Reviewing LeBron James' Six NBA Finals Losses
In 2012 and 2013 Wade added 2 more rings to his cabinet and while these years he was often in the shadow of Lebron, no one can take away some of his performances in the playoffs like game 6 versus the Pacers when he totalled 41/10/3/2 and levelled the series or like game 4 in the 2013 NBA Finals when he went off for 32/6/4/6.
Injuries and age would go on to slow Dwyane down but even then, in the playoffs when it was time for Dwyane to take over he would do exactly that. The Charlotte Hornets got that treatment in 2016.
With so many performances and accolades which include 3 NBA Championships, NBA Finals MVP, Scoring Title and so on it would be safe to say that his legacy is intact, yet I believe that his greatest moment as an NBA player came in 2018.
On February 14th, 2018, seventeen people were killed in a shooting at Stoneman Douglas High school in Florida. One of the students killed in the shooting was Joaquin Oliver, a huge Miami Heat, and Dwyane Wade fan so much so that he was buried in his Dwyane Wade jersey. Wade naturally was emotional and did everything that he could off the court to show his support and love and emotion towards Joaquin and all the other people who lost their lives but perhaps his greatest moment was when they played the Philadelphia 76ers.
Wade had Joaquin Oliver written on his shoes as a tribute and wearing those shoes would go on to have one of his best games of the season scoring 27 points and hitting a game-winner over Ben Simmons to lead the Heat to a 102-101 win over the 76ers. Miami in those torrid times after the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School needed a hero and while this performance did not change much in the larger scheme but for that brief moment brought joy back in Miami and hence became one of those sporting moments which actually transcends sport.
If Dwyane Wade does decide to retire this season then all I have to say as a basketball fan is
Thank you, Wade