Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade is about to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and that event is leading to a long walk down memory lane.
Speaking to the NBA Twitter account, Wade spoke about where he got one of his popular nicknames.
Wade has been called many things throughout his career but one of his most prominent nicknames is “Flash.”
And he revealed that he earned that name from none other than his former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal.
Referring to O’Neal as a “marketing machine”, Wade said that he came up with the nickname during their first preseason together.
He didn’t go into detail about why O’Neal chose “Flash” but he did say that it stuck, even though Wade didn’t like it at first.
How did the nickname “FLASH” come to be?⚡ The story from @DwyaneWade himself!#23HoopClass Enshrinement • 8pm/et on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/rA5klp0uZh
— NBA (@NBA) August 12, 2023
Wade and O’Neal played together for several seasons and found some great success together.
Much like O’Neal’s time with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, these two were a perfect mix of shot-making and size.
They also read each other well, seemingly always in sync.
Wade had several fruitful partnerships during his time in the NBA.
From O’Neal to LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Ray Allen, and others, he is the type of player that other athletes love to work with.
Wade said that he initially didn’t even want a nickname when O’Neal proposed giving him one.
He desired to be known only by his last name, like Larry Bird and other NBA icons.
In the end, O’Neal had his way, and “Flash” stuck.
Now, all these years later, Wade sounds thankful for the moniker, and the partnership that it came from.
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