A Look Back At Miami Heat Legend Dwyane Wade’s Greatest Moments
After an illustrious career, Dwyane Wade will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion, he’s had tons of great moments.
Here's a look at his top five greatest NBA moments:
5. Game 1 of the 2004 Eastern Conference first round vs. New Orleans Hornets
In his first career playoff game, he made himself known as a clutch player.
After scoring 20 fourth-quarter points, the Hornets were on their way to taking a 1-0 series lead. Instead of letting a veteran decide the game, Heat coach Stan Van Gundy let the rookie Wade deliver. With one second left in the game, he drove towards the paint to score a floater over Baron Davis, giving them a 81-79 victory.
It was this moment when Wade became a fan favorite in Miami.
4. Feb. 27, 2019: Wade put the Golden State Warriors away
He made sure to leave the NBA on an impressive note.
With 10 seconds left in the game, the Heat needed a 3-pointer to secure a victory. After getting his first attempt blocked by Jordan Bell, Wade got the ball back and made an off-balance game-winning 3-pointer. Fans in the arena experienced deja vu when he jumped on the scorer’s table to pump the crowd.
After the game, Wade revealed this was important to him.
"I told Steph, `I needed this one on my way out. Y'all get enough," he said. "But it was cool. I think the one thing cool for me was I've got younger teammates that heard about some of the things you do but don't always get an opportunity to see it."
3. Nov. 12, 2009 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: The dunk heard around the world
Many have called this one of the greatest dunks in history.
After LeBron James missed a dunk, Wade got the rebound and went hunting. He found Anderson Varejao in the paint and went for the posterizing dunk. As soon as Varejao hit the ground, the crowd in the American Airlines Arena went crazy but Wade didn’t stop there. He decided to step over Varejao, resulting in both exchanging words.
The Cavaliers won but this dunk will always be remembered.
2. Mar. 9, 2009 vs. Chicago Bulls: The game-winning buzzer beater in second overtime
During one of Wade’s greatest seasons, he had one of his best moments. In double overtime, many expected him to be tired considering he logged in 49 minutes.
But instead, he decided to finish it off on his own. With five seconds left, Bulls’ forward John Salmons was attempting to get around Udonis Haslem when Wade stole the ball and raced towards halfcourt for a game-winning 3-pointer. When it went in, he immediately got on the scoring table and yelled “This is my house!”
Wade finished with 48 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, four steals, and three blocks.
- Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals vs. Dallas Mavericks
The Miami Heat went into Game 3 down 0-2 in the series and it seemed like the Mavericks were going to win this one, too.
Not on Wade’s watch.
In the fourth quarter, he had one of the greatest Finals performances in history. With the Heat down 89-76, Wade scored five straight points to bring them closer. The most important play came at the end. With one second left, he disrupted Dirk Nowitzki’s inbound lob pass to Josh Howard, securing the victory. Wade finished the game with 42 points, 15 in the fourth quarter.
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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.
