Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade’s Impact Being Seen All Over NBA Postseason

Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade Inspires – Kevin Huerter, Terry Rozier, And DeMar DeRozan

When one thinks of Dwyane Wade, Kevin Huerter of the Atlanta Hawks would never be the first name that correlates. But what Wade’s jersey swap tour did was shine a light on the admiration the Atlanta Hawks guard had for the Miami Heat legend from a young age.

"“It was just somebody that both me and my brother always looked up to growing up,” Kevin Huerter told The Washington Post of Wade. “We used to have his shoes. Obviously, I wear Number 3.”"

While Huerter is not putting up Wade-like numbers, his sample-sized play-in statistics had taken a slight bump up from those of the regular season and last year’s Eastern Conference Finals playoff run.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for another Wade admirer who tried to mimic his game.

"“I think it’s just unique given how much I follow him, how much inspiration he’s given to me on the basketball side,” Terry Rozier told Celtics.com in 2019. “He changed the game for me.”"

Terry Rozier’s admiration was a little more obvious. Before joining the Charlotte Hornets and donning the number “3”, Rozier acknowledged adapting Wade’s speed and competitiveness to his game.

Anyone who watched him in Louisville or Boston could see the same. It’s no different from the way DeMar DeRozan found an aspect of Wade’s skills to hone in on:

"“I watched him growing up, I watched him at Marquette, I watched him throughout,” DeRozan said to the Miami Herald. “I remember, it’s crazy, when I played in the All-Star Game the first time, I told him I stole the pump fake from him.”"

Four All-Star appearances later and DeRozan is considered one of the best free agency pickups from last summer. He was, not only, the Chicago Bulls’ leading scorer with 27.9 points per game, but he was top 5 in the NBA—shooting 47 percent from the midrange with the pump fake as a catalyst.

However, that still did not draw comparisons like the next group.