Miami Heat legend Wade fires back, defending his offensive role and explaining why his legendary game didn't prioritize three-pointers, proving his greatness was intentional.
Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade never wanted to be like Stephen Curry.
He preferred to be like Mike. As in Michael Jordan.
Despite being generally considered the third-best two guard behind Jordan and Kobe Bryant, some have questioned Wade's ability as a shooter. He recently addressed it during an appearance on his WYNetwork.
"That wasn't a game that I played," Wade said. "We didn't shoot that many 3s as a team. It wasn't my responsibility.It was my responsibility to get the three-point shooters shot. That's why I focused on. I understand it and does it bother you at times? It could but also, too, I know me. I was great. If you told me that I needed to be great at this, then I would've been great at this, then I would've been great at that if that was the game that I needed to play. That was the game that my coaches needed me to play."
Wade was mostly known for his mid-range game and ability to get to the basket. While he would occasionally knock down shots from the perimeter, he knew his strengths. Even though he lacked the shooting of Bryant or Jordan from the 3-point arc late in his career, Wade could still score with the best of them.
He retired as the Heat's all-time leading scorer and averaged more than 30 points in 2008-09. Many felt he should have won the MVP that year ahead of LeBron James.
"It's just everything was different in the way we thought the game," Wade said. "I didn't need it. I averaged 30 without it. It wasn't the thing I needed in my game. I never really focused on it. You hear MJ talk about this a lot. He wasn't really necessarily known as a thee-point shooter either. He didn't want to be. He thought at that time it would've took some of his aggression away, to be a guy that's out there shooting 3s when that was the other guys' responsibility to shoot 3s. It would've took some of my aggression away the way I played the game."
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com