Wade reflects on his coaches, why Jordan doc hits home
The absence of games has allowed former Heat guard Dwyane Wade ample time to reflect on a career that ended just over a year ago.
On Wednesday, that had him discussing topics that included Erik Spoelstra coaching in Pat Riley’s shadow, why the Michael Jordan ESPN documentary is hitting home, and his plans to produce a film based on his gold-medal experience with the 2008 Olympic team.
Checking in with the Heat’s Instagram Live account while sheltering in place at his Los Angeles-area home amid the new coronavirus pandemic, the Heat icon shared both laughter and deep thought with Heat television host Jason Jackson.
Asked about Spoelstra perhaps not getting his full coaching due, Wade pointed to the imposing shadow of Riley, the Heat’s president.
“I don’t know if he ever will get the credit he deserves, right?” Wade said. “A lot of it is the fortunate and unfortunate part of he’s under Pat Riley. And Pat Riley’s still in the organization. He’s making the correct moves to bring in the right players and he gets a lot of credit for that.
“And I think a lot of people think Spo’s job is easy. That actually makes it harder to have Pat Riley as the boss and the one that’s helping him put these things together.”
Spoelstra coached Wade and the Heat’s Big Three to four consecutive NBA Finals, with championships in 2012 and ’13.
“I think his greatest strength is his ability — I talked about it a little bit in my retirement speech — to not allow us to ever think about the moment,” Wade said. “Whether we were winning 27 games in a row or we were losing five games in a row, he approached every day the same way. So we had to do the same thing.
“And as our leader he always was consistent with that. And when you have somebody that’s leading you and they’re consistent, it’s easier to follow them.”
With the sports world idle, Wade said his Sundays remain filled with NBA drama because of “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s Jordan documentary.
“It’s taking me back to the purest time that I’ve ever experienced in life,” Wade said. “They’re taking it back to when he was drafted in ’84, up until ’98.
“I was born in ’82, right? So this is my entire childhood that we’re watching every Sunday.
“If it was not for the Chicago Bulls, and especially the team in ’90-91, I would never have had the vision to become the player that I wanted to be: Michael Jordan. So I never would have had the vision to become that guy. And I also never would have had the vision to understand what it means to win a championship for a city.
“Because the Bulls winning those championships back then meant — in our home we might not have had a lot, we might not have ate that night, we might not have had heat that night — the nights the Bulls won, it brought us together.”
As for a documentary of his own, Wade said he previously spoke when he likely was not authorized, but he confirmed his participation on a projected film about the 2008 USA Olympic team.
“Certain individuals reached out to me to be part of this documentary,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Of course.’
“This is just is a no-brainer for me to be a part of it. Because this is a part of my rebranding of who I was, as a basketball player, going to the Olympics.”