Dwyane Wade closed his Basketball Hall of Fame speech by asking his father to “step into basketball heaven” with him.
Source: Mike Lawrie / Getty
The 41-year-old spoke directly to his dad, who sat in the front row at Symphony Hall in the heart of Springfield, MA.
“I started this off thanking you, and I want to end it the same way”, the NBA champion, told his pops as attendees looked on. “I owe you a debt of gratitude that I’ll never be able to repay.
“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. So Pops, I know your knees are a little sore, but will you join me on stage as we take our rightful step into basketball heaven?”
The applause in the room crescendoed as D. Wade’s dad, sporting a perfectly tailored mint green suit, ascended the stairs to the stage and accompanied his son.
The pair shared a lingering hug before the All Star told his father,”I love you and I’m thankful for you.”
His dad sheepishly replied, “I love you too man.”
Source: Mike Lawrie / Getty
At the close of Dwyane’s speech, he yelled in excitement, “We in the Hall of Fame, dawg!” He literally jumped for joy as he embraced his dad.
Top-ranked NBA player, Lebron James, congratulated the former power forward in an IG post.
“Today is the official day my brother @dwyanewade goes into the HOF!!!!!” Lebron shared in his caption. “WOW WOW WOW bro!! Man I can’t say enough how proud and happy I am of/for you. The kid from Robbins, IL now in the HALL!!! You a bad man Trey Ball! SCREAMING
CONGRATULATIONS
. Love you kid!!
#WadeCounty
Lebron also showed love to his former teammate on Twitter, sharing,
“YESSIR!!!!! HEAT NATION 🔥 STAND UP!! STANDING OVATION 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾!!!! CONGRATULATIONS @DwyaneWade LOVE YOU BROTHER!!”
The two spent four years together as they played for the Miami Heat. During the 2017-18 season, they played 46 games side-by-side in Cleveland.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 features top-tier athletes like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Becky Hammon, Tony Parker, the late Jim Valvano, Gregg Popovich and Dwyane Wade.
Congratulations, Dwyane Wade, and tell yo’ daddy we say heeey!
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