Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade credits Shaq for a lot of his overall confidence

The Miami Heat are gearing up to begin their ramp-up to the coming season, surely, like every other team.

With a few things needing to be addressed heading into the new season, such as their power forward rotation specifically after losing P.J. Tucker to Philly, the next several weeks are sure to be a whirlwind of happenings for them and every other team with loose ends to tie up around the league.

While that is more geared toward their future, stepping back into the Miami Heat’s illustrious past a bit provided the inspiration for this particular chat.

The greatest Miami Heat player of all time and one of the best NBA players to ever do it, Dwyane Wade, recently spoke about his overall confidence on the floor when he was playing and off the floor then and since.

The Miami Heat greatest ever, Dwyane Wade, credits another NBA legend for a lot of his confidence. As confident as they come, Shaq was just what he needed.

Ironically enough, one of the main sources of that confidence and from early on is another NBA legend, Miami Heat great, and former Miami Heat champion.

While the video clip is above and a key excerpt from this quote is in the caption, it was such a good spill that we had to detail it again. Take into account exactly what Flash is saying here.

"I ran into people that challenged me until probably like, when Shaq came, it really inserted that level of confidence in me that I could be one of the greats. You know what I mean, I needed somebody that was a great to be able to show me what it’s like to be great.And I give him so much credit for what I did on the court at a young age in my second year in the league but also what I started doing off the court. A lot of it came from being around a guy that was doing it.And so I just had to, like, follow suit but also just interpret it, you know, my own way and put my own spin to it. But when Shaq says “hey, you one of the best two-guards in this game… you are going to be one of the greats”, I mean, I don’t need no more juice than that."

Basically, he already had the game to be the guy that would become a top-three shooting guard—ever at the professional game. However, it took the simple spark provided by one of the most physically imposing forces and dominant players that the game has ever seen, Shaquille O’Neal, to ensure that he got there.

While it provides a bit more clarity on what went into Dwyane Wade becoming the player that he ended up becoming, it totally amplifies something else. No matter when it was, then or now, when The Diesel speaks, people listen.