Dwyane Wade — lovingly known as “D-Wade” by his fans, has a long and rich legacy as a basketball player and is arguably one of the most successful NBA players of all time. D-Wade is also well known and loved for another role: being a model father to his five children.
We can see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This past weekend, Wade was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and shared this great honor with his own father, Dwayne Wade Sr.
On Saturday, August 12th, Wade delivered an unforgettable speech at the 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony, inviting his “pops” to join him on stage.
Grab your tissues and enjoy @DwyaneWade's full Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement speech. Worth every second. pic.twitter.com/rKDkBp5m8v
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 13, 2023
Wade Jr. credits his pops for showing him the ropes and supporting him from a young age, “I owe you a debt of gratitude that I’ll never be able to repay. When I would cry and say, ‘I can’t,’ you made me go harder. You pushed me to the limits I didn’t know were inside of me [and] the hard work I put in was because I didn’t want to let you down.
Wade Jr., who moved in with his father at the age of 9, continues, “Even though I hated being called ‘Little Dwyane,’ I admired you as a kid. I admire you now. We had the same exact dream and we carry the exact name: Dwyane Tyrone Wade. To know we hustled all the way to the Basketball Hall of Fame is God’s will.”
At the end of the speech, D-Wade looked at his pops, embraced him in a tight hug and joyfully announced, “We in the Hall of Fame dawg!”
On this historical night, this father-son duo reminds us how important it is to love on those who’ve supported us and give them their flowers when we can!
Cover photo: Dwayne Wade honors his father in Hall of Fame induction speech/Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated