One Last Dance - Jake's D-Wade Tribute
- Jake Lawrence
- Mar 12, 2019
- 6 min read
We're all massive Dwyane Wade fans here at WMCB, so after Flash channelled his "inner Mamba" and hit a buzzer beating bank shot to beat Golden State, I couldn't help but pay some tribute to Father Prime himself. This season has brought some bittersweet Dwyane Wade moments for fans around the world - seeing him throw one last lob pass to his bro LeBron, hit clutch shot after clutch shot, make the All Star Game for the 13th time in his career and now hit an iconic shot reminiscent to the same shot Kobe made over him years ago. One Last Dance has been one hell of a show and we're still guaranteed another 25+ games from Wade to treasure, possibly even more if he can lead his team into the playoffs. I'm still a believer that Miami could cause some serious problems for some of the top 4 teams in the East if they were to get a playoff spot - We all know D-Wade is something special to watch when April comes around. But for now I'm going to throw up a few shots from half court and hope they connect – I'll be discussing where D-Wade sits in my All-Time Shooting Guard rankings, my top three Flash moments and also creating my own Wade inspired “old-man teams” that could drop buckets at a local rec-league somewhere near you.
Jake's All-Time Shooting Guard List
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwyane Wade
4. Manu Ginobili
5. Ray Allen
For a future Hall of Famer to be drafted in 2003, wear the number 3 throughout the majority of his career, win 3 championships, be selected to the All Star Game 13 times and make the All-Defensive team 3 times – 3 is obviously a very special number in D-Wade’s life, he originally chose it because it represented the Holy Trinity (per his autobiography), what better place to finish his career as the third-best shooting guard of all time?!
No matter how much I want to, I can’t put him over Kobe – despite the fact that Kobe had much better teams around him throughout the 00s to help him win 5 championship rings, D-Wade still had to team with Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James and Chris Bosh respectively to get to 3 championships. Neither player single-handedly put their teams on their backs to win it all – though you could make the argument for Wade in the 2006 Finals against the Mavericks. So I have to view this from a purely individual standpoint – Wade actually has a higher career PER, FG%, assist rate and effective FG% than the Black Mamba. But just can’t ignore Kobe’s absolute ice-cold, lethal approach to every game and matchup, he never took a night off no matter what the circumstances. I read “Relentless” by Tim Grover a few years ago and he listed both Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant as “cleaners” in life – in a short explanation, people who approached every aspect of their life without ever thinking of consequences, they’re the type of people who don’t need your respect or gratitude to perform at a high level daily, they know exactly what they’re capable of and have no guilt or apprehension about taking over any situation. So essentially, players who for better or worse will always assume the top-dog role on a team, no questions asked.
I love the narrative behind both players and have followed Wade the entire time I’ve watched NBA basketball – but Kobe was the Alpha on every Lakers team he won a Championship with – and he stayed with his team throughout his entire career, sadly not something Dwyane can say, so I’ve got Wade at #3 behind Kobe.
Top 3 Dwyane Wade Moments
#3 – Anderson Varejao Dunk
There’s a narrative to this dunk that extends much further than just the dunk itself. LeBron had been unhappy with his teammates that season in Cleveland, despite putting up great numbers his team had still been faltering. Then he flies down the court in transition and tries to end Udonis Haslem, who manages to save his career by getting fingertips on the ball – Wade collects the rebound, calmly takes it coast-to-coast and just yams on Varejao. It’s reminiscent of two schoolboys trying to out-do each other on the playground and D-Wade just became hot gossip for the entire school going back to class after break. But seriously, I think the stunning thing about this dunk isn’t only the fact he was more perpendicular to Varejao than I’ve ever seen a player be during a poster, but also the change of pace that happened before the dunk that makes it so unexpected. The dude was just jogging down the court, he even jogged through the lane, but then his two steps before the jam were just ridiculously explosive. I wonder what Anderson Varejao was thinking while he fell to the floor… I imagine it was something similar to the thoughts of the entire crowd – “OH S**T”.
#2 – No-Look pass to LeBron
There isn’t so much of a narrative to this one, it was just downright sexy. It produced one of the most iconic photos I would say in NBA history. The photo captured the absolute dominance of the Miami Heat that year, a year when they won their second straight Championship and rewrote the history books with a 27-win streak in the regular season. They were dominant from start to finish and pulled off one of the most spectacular comebacks in league history against the Spurs in the 2013 Finals. This dunk also led to an enormous anticipation for this year’s All Star Game where they nearly pulled off the same picture after Wade threw an off-the-glass alley oop to Bron. But the Basketball Gods declined, choosing to tell Dwyane’s inner conscience to look away from the camera, admiring the beautiful path the two best friends had taken through the league coming back around in full circle. Deep, but that’s why this makes it to number 2 on my list.
#1 – “This is My House”
This is the play that defined Dwyane’s status as top-dog in Miami, not only was it a spectacular play and captured Dwyane’s playing style in one clip – the anticipation, the hustle, the finesse and the clutch finish – but it also led to his most famous celebration. Stood on top of the broadcasters table screaming “THIS IS MY HOUSE” to a stadium of adoring fans, it was thrilling, defiant and timeless all in one moment - and it’s the image that will be forever engrained in the minds of Dwyane Wade fans when they look back on his incredible career. You can almost see the glint in Heat owner Mickey Arison's eyes (below and right of Wade) - he knows full well that he's grabbed a generational talent in Wade.
Wade Inspired "Old Man" Rec Team
PG - Jason Kidd
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Vince Carter
PF - Charles Barkley
C - Shaquille O'Neal
Bench - Ray Allen
Bench - Mike Bibby
Stiff knees and creaky hips are the theme of this team, and this group are going to ball out. Before I delve into the basketball aspect of this group I'll speak about the personalities - I would love to be a fly on the wall of the locker room pre-game. It'd be so interesting and funny to see players like Kidd and Kobe trying to take this hoops game super seriously, while Vince and Ray Ray are reminiscing about their years in the league, Mike Bibby is pumping iron in the corner and Shaq and Sir Charles are giggling away like schoolkids.
The fan appeal of this game for one is off the charts - just the dynamic of Kobe and Shaq teaming up again is enough to sell out of tickets. Then you've got The Round Mound of Rebound killing the boards and kicking outlet passes to the best shooter of All Time in Ray Allen. This team is going to shut the gym down - and you know I had to throw Air Canada in there because what's a pick up game without some high flying acrobatics?! I had to break the rules slightly and go with Vince, how many 40+ year olds do you know that probably still have a 40 inch vertical leap? Thought so. Honestly I think that this team would destroy the best rec league teams in the country - The Black Mamba might be a bit out of shape but you know he's going to snap what's left of his achilles chasing down loose balls and hitting fadeaways. We all know Shaq and Charles still have game with their occasional hilarious in-studio battles, and Mike Bibby (as long as he can fit his lats through the gym door) is still known for being in playing shape - if players skipped leg day.
I've got this team winning against the best young hoopers around, count them in for a day of pick up games with mandatory ice baths, massages and cryo-chambers in between. The closest any team could get to beating them might be 21-11.
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