Dwyane Wade

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Lore & Background

After a successful college basketball career with the Marquette Golden Eagles, including leading the team to the Final Four in 2003, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Heat. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA Championship and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring and helped them capture the gold medal. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in both total points (2,386) and points per game (30.2), the latter stat earning him his lone NBA scoring title. Wade was selected as the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2010. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, he helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. In July 2016, Wade briefly left Miami to play for the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a season and a half before being traded back to Miami in February 2018 where he finished his playing career and retired in 2019. The Heat retired Wade's #3 jersey in 2020. He purchased a minority ownership stake in the Utah Jazz in 2021 and became a minority stakeholder of the WNBA's Chicago Sky in 2023. In October 2021, Wade was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice: in 2023 for his individual career, and in 2025 as a member of the Redeem Team.

In Their Own Story

The defining moment of Wade's early career arrived during the 2006 NBA Finals. After winning his third season led the Heat to their first-ever championship, he delivered one of the greatest individual performances in playoff history against the Dallas Mavericks. In Game 5, suffering from a severely bruised hip and intense pain, he scored 15 of his 28 points while limping, securing a crucial series lead. He continued this dominance in Games 6 and 7, scoring 36 and 43 points respectively to clinch the title. In Game 7 alone, he poured in 36 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field during his All-Star appearance that season, but it was the Finals where he truly shone, averaging massive scoring outputs including 42, 36, and 43 points in Games 3, 4, and 5. This performance earned him the 2006 NBA Finals MVP award, cementing his status as a champion and the face of the franchise.

Reader's Guide

Wade was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 17, 1982. He played basketball and football at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He played college basketball at Marquette University, leading the Golden Eagles to the Final Four in 2003. He was drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat in the 2003 NBA draft. He played for the Heat from 2003 to 2016, then for the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, before returning to the Heat in 2018 and retiring in 2019. He became a co-owner of the Utah Jazz in 2021.

Did You Know?

• Wade's triple-double against Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA Tournament was in the Midwest Regional final, not the Final Four.
• Wade is Miami's all-time leader in points, games played, assists, and steals, but not in shots made or shots taken.
• Wade was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
• Wade was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 for his individual career and again in 2025 as a member of the Redeem Team.