Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have had a nice three-game stretch lately. Wade scored 30 points againt Detroit last Monday and is coming off a 14 points and 8 assists performance in a win at the Los Angeles Clippers.The 32-year-old shooting guard was already a star before LeBron James came to South Beach. When he played at Marquette University, he led his team to their first ever conference championship and a Final Four appearance. He was drafted 5th overall by the Heat in 2003 where he went on to become Sportsman of the Year in 2006, the same year he won his first NBA Finals and Finals MVP. He is the all-time leading scorer in Miami Heat history and was the NBA’s leading scorer in 2009. He was also a critical part of the Heat’s back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. However, despite all of this success, Wade has found difficulty in his life. He grew up in a dysfunctional family on the south side of Chicago where his mother was a drug addict. In 2008, he also had a nasty divorce with his wife and mother of two sons. Through all of these hard times, Wade says that Jesus Christ has helped sustain him in these tough moments. In an interview with Chad Bonham of Beliefnet, Wade shares his faith about the One who has been with him through all the trials.
“There are going to be good time and bad times,” said Wade. “There are going to be people who love me and there are going to be people who don’t love me. As long as you are real with yourself knowing that you’re still human even though some people put you on a pedestal. I know that I have to be the same person no matter if people like me or not. I try to tell kids that there are going to be people in your life that try to tell you that you can’t do something. There were people in my life who told me that I couldn’t make it to this point in the NBA. I believed in God, myself and my abilities to get to this point. Always believe in yourself no matter what anyone may say to you.” (Credit: beliefnet.com)
To give you a better look of what Dwyane Wade has gone through in his early life, take a look at this video done by ESPN that conveyed the relationship between the basketball superstar and his mother:
I addition to supporting his mother, Wade also founded The Wade’s World Foundation in 2003. The organization provides support to community-based organizations that promote education, health, and social skills for children in at-risk situations. He also hosts a variety of community outreach programs in Chicago and Miami. He wears the number “3” to represent the Holy Trinity of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. Dwyane Wade has had a positive impact for the NBA both on and off the court.
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