Dwyane Wade on Miami Heat Statue, Legacy, Jaime Jaquez, Bam Adebayo and more

Dwyane Wade on Miami Heat Statue, Legacy, Jaime Jaquez, Bam Adebayo and more

I’m really impressed right can I I know it’s Sunday baby my game up so you actually do have water in there there water it’s water in here too okay two well you know people see this they like what’s in there no it’s water in here that’s the microphone that’s the microphone now oh

Different you guys ready D obviously you coined the term this is my house now with the statue that’s about to be enshrined in front of your house how official now is 601 bis Kan your house yeah man um I definitely uh I definitely feel that gives me a little

Bit more you know a little bit more um ability to be able to say this is my house um you know it’s it’s not something I dreamed of but it’s something I definitely grew up knowing about um you know when Michael Jordan had a statue in Chicago and it the first

Statue I’ve ever seen and so to be able to uh to be at this point in my life where I know that the same feeling I had uh when Jordan had his statue was the same feeling that young kids will have um coming and get an opportunity to

Visit my families will have to be able to create memories and moments in front of this Arena um so man just just special and um you know I can’t you know I can’t dream big enough because a lot of these things I just never never knew

Was possible for me um but super honor I’m super honored um to be here and to be able to get that from Pat in front of the the fans um something fell in my eye out some paint fell out the ceiling and went in my right eye but um you know it

Was it was everything Dwayne you know before the game Eric spol said that you’ve been able to capture the hearts of everybody here in South Florida what does that mean to you to be able to have that fan base here that no matter when even if you’re just walking down the street

They’re always going to say w County yes it’s different you know I I go all around the world and the love is definitely there um I always tell people I get 99.9% love and in real time and I get about 1% hate on on social media so

Who cares um but here it’s just different U I was talking to um Chris Riley I was talking to M meline erison last night and we were just talking about yeah I was born I was raised in Chicago but you know this is where I

Grew up 21 years old until you know 37 um I grew up here and so um a lot of the fan base they grew up with me um a lot of the kids were young who was now you know a little older um and their parents

Forced them to watch me and forced me to be their favorite player CU I was theirs but um so it’s great it’s no love like you know Miami love and every time I come back here I feel that and so I said upstairs when I was talking to Jackson

I’m not the greatest player ever played a game of basketball but you can’t tell me that and nobody in Miami that when I come here um I feel like the greatest player ever play the game of basketball when I step into this Arena when I step into this city and the

State oh congratulations first of all um at least from the outside it looks like you’ve made a transition pretty easily to your post playing career what about your what what is it about this whole process has been so easy for you in terms of transitioning to retirement and

Does this kind of ceremony put a kind of a cap on your incredible career yeah I think social media puts off a very fake um you know that’s that’s not really really it you know it hasn’t been easy um you know it’s different my life is different um you know every day I

Wake up you I woke up my entire life to chase being where I am today and you know it’s great to reap the benefits from it but you know I’m not waking up to chase these things and so trying to find you know other things to chase um

And so it’s definitely different in retirement but I wake up every day also too just lucky and blessed to be alive and to be able to uh think of something and go out and try to chase it and try to create it um so I’m one of the lucky

Ones and so I carry that every day you know with me even on my bad days um I carry that same joy and that same you know that same thought process so um you know I think the best thing about right now is just knowing that I just put in I

Put in all the work you know I did it I took all the sacrifices uh even when I didn’t know what the outcome would be and now I’m reaping the benefits of what that outcome is um and so you know when you have your moment like this as a

Player uh it makes all those hard days all those days that you know you wanted to quit that you didn’t it makes them count it makes them matter and we will get a chance to see that you know when UD gets up here soon when he gets to

Jersey retired um you’re going he’s going to feel it he’s going to feel all those sacrifices and all the things that he did uh to have this moment to be able to celebrate you know your career you know with the people U that was a part

Of it so it’s just just a great time great time to be alive congrats danan um when you talk to some of the players on the team now bam even like Hae they still look at the things that you were able to accomplish with this organization and in your

Career as almost like goals of their own things that kind of push them what does it mean to you to be able to in retirement still have an impact on the players in this organization in that kind of way yeah um first of all H is a

Baller let’s just start there um but yeah I mean I’m I’m proud too you know to be able to watch the game of basketball and watch the eaten C bam do what he’s doing become the player he’s becoming become the captain the leader becoming be a to see Duncan doing what

He’s doing um Jay Rich you know guys that you have something um to do you know with their Journey U first of all I’m like a proud papa um in that case but you know when you when you play the game of basketball I think you guys

Could probably go back to um me when I first came into this game when people ask me what did I what did I what did I want when this when my career was over I always said I want the respect I want the respect of my peers most importantly

And so um peers before me peers after me peers at the same time I’ve had that that constant respect um and so I appreciate that and that to me feels greater than anything is when your peers you know look at you when they give you

That when they give you that you know or you know whatever it is and so it matters Dwayne congratulations um Eric B just signed this extension this year uh this week this that ain’t an extension that’s something else I just want to get your reaction to him uh getting that

Kind of uh reward for all he’s done for this organization well deserved and we all know that and you know is earned um you know especially with SPO he earns it every day I don’t think he’s probably going to spend none of that money know he don’t really buy he don’t

Spend money um you know so it’s not about the actual amount for him um I think for all of us who played on this SP um we all know that you know he’s one of the greatest coaches ever grace the sideline and we’ve all in Miami we’ve

All been luy enough to watch him develop and grow we’ve been a part of the journey uh we all remember when they wanted him fired right we know when that that nine and eight start we all remember that um and and we’ve been able to see the entire journey of him and so

For him to be an organization like this that allow him to grow to make mistakes on the Fly um and to watch him develop into this coach where you know he may not have the coach of the year oners because you know I don’t know why I

Don’t even know why honestly you may not have that but I think the sign of respect that was just given to him no one can look at that um and say anything and shake your head about anything or you know talk behind his back and say anything negative about everybody know

That he deserves to be where he is today um and it’s because of the work he puts in and I always said it suppos an everyday person he’s going to give you everything you have every day and so just honored and you know hopefully he

Can take me out to lunch you know I took him out to lunch a few times when I was playing so hopefully now he can return the flavor since I don’t have as much money as him last question D you talk about the way your your legacy with the

He lives on through Jimmy through bam and through SPO but I wanted to ask you is there an on court or off the moment that encapsulates your career more than any others uh I don’t know I mean you know hopefully you know when you think about

My career I think the reception that I get from fan base is everything you know the the impact you you make on people is is everything to me that’s what Legacy is you know that sign behind me said Legacy when I was sitting on the court

Um my legacy is now 23,000 plus points and three championships you know my legacy is people Legacy is what people are saying about me when I’m not in a room and so um you know that’s the biggest impact that I’ve had you know today is a

Moment where we talk it’s all about me right we Center me um but this is a moment where it’s all about everyone else around and you know and like I said out there you know it’s a moment where I know it’s somebody in this Arena that

Got engaged with in Miami he been a part of it I know someone met because they was at a bar celebrating you know one of our wins one of our championships um the people babies was wrapped and born into Miami he gear a away jersey and so forth

And so on so this entire journey to get to this point is bigger than me um so as we Center me it’s about everyone else um that’s been a part of this journey so I’m just thankful and I’m thankful to continue to get the Ovation the love um

Like bam said bam said you you feel like you have four jerk retirements he hey and I said I’ll be back we got another one coming um and that’s just nothing but but love from the organization from everybody inside the organization um you know being the first to get drafted here

To accomplish some of the things in that standpoint um you know I think that’s why I get a little bit more love um but outside of that it’s impact you have on people and I hopefully I’ve had a great impact on a lot of people you thank you guys thank you

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade discusses his Hall of Fame career, getting a statue in the front of the arena and more.

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