For The Oracle’s third issue, I decided to feature Dwyane Wade in the Oracle Hall of Fame, who rocked the No. 3 uniform for the majority of his 17-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before retiring in 2019.
He was drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat in the 2003 Entry Draft and played with them for 14 years, cementing himself as one of the franchise’s best players. He played in 1,054 career games and played over 35,770 minutes. In his breakout 2008-09 season, he led the league in points with 2,386 to his name, field goals–points scored that are not free throws–with 854 and points per game, with 30.2. He was instrumental in the Heat’s three NBA Championship wins in 2006, 2012 and 2013, even winning the 2006 Finals MVP Award. He appeared in 13 All Star Games and won the 2010 All Star MVP award. Wade notably became superstar LeBron James’ right hand man to help bring Miami their two most recent Championship titles after LeBron controversially signed with the Heat in 2010. The two players, along with Chris Bosh, ran the NBA in the trio’s short four-season stint.
Wade was famously mentioned in Jay-Z’s song “Empire State of Mind,” and told Genius.com that he “felt like [he] made it in pop culture.” Besides his name being dropped in popular music, including songs by Kanye, Fetty Wap and Nicki Minaj, his status as one of the modern NBA greats will unquestionably give him a top priority NBA Hall of Fame ballot.
