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Dwyane Wade Explains How Ja Morant Got the Best From Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose and Himself

Published 03/09/2022, 12:00 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Dwyane Wade was once in the debate for best player of the NBA. At the time Kobe Bryant was extending his legacy, LeBron was starting his, and Wade was a player who was effective, efficient and all in all a match-winner.

Before LeBron James joined him in the Miami Heat, he was “the guy”. He won them their first title in 2006 and was a vital part of their other two championship-winning runs as well. There were so many iconic moments for him during his time at the Miami Heat.

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Two more players similar to Dwyane Wade were Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose. A career that lasted 14 years was filled with a love-hate relationship for Allen with the NBA fans. Despite this, no one can deny that he was among the best guards at the time in the league. At only 6’0 he could score with ease. Whereas Rose was in Chicago Bulls when he started his career. He was one of the most explosive players in the league in his prime and is a former MVP.

Wade recently talked about one of the best talents in the NBA right now, Ja Morant. The former Miami Heat star said that he sees a lot of himself, Iverson, and Rose in him.

Ja Morant could be the next big thing

Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies is one of the best young talents the league has produced in recent times. Morant was the 2nd overall pick for the Grizzlies in the NBA draft of 2019. In just his 3rd season in the NBA, he is the talk of the league. NBA greats like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade think that he might be ready to take a big leap towards something amazing.

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Dwyane Wade shared how Shaq, in Wade’s third year, presented a challenge to him. The challenge was to go and do something no one in his age group was doing. That meant to become an NBA champion. Dwyane sees a lot of himself in Ja Morant. He thinks that Ja is taking it to another level.

WATCH: Top break out stories in the NBA featuring Ja Morant and others.

“I think the cool thing for a guy like Ja Morant is he got opportunity to watch Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose and someone like myself. These smaller guards who play a lot bigger than they are right,” said Dwyane.

Wade continued, “I look at Ja. I look at it similar to me. We’re not known for our outside shot but lead the league in paint points right, putting the pressure on the rim at all times. We’ll put a body on you at any moment going to the basket and just using his athleticism in so many amazing ways. So I see a lot of similarities in my game as well to Ja. But I think he mixed a lot of us together and he’s taken it to even another level.”

USA Today via Reuters

Even if he is in comparison with the likes of Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, and Dwyane Wade, that means Ja Morant is destined for great things. Allen and Derrick had short-lived primes in their careers, but they were as good as anyone at their best. It won’t be an overstatement to say that in his prime, Dwyane was probably one of the guards to grace the game.

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He had it all. Variety in offensive plays, wide versatility, defensive capabilities, quick dribbling, pacey movement, shooting, and scoring ability. You name it. He was one of the best players who never won the MVP, even though he surely deserved one.

via Getty

ALSO READ: Shaq in all praise for Ja Morant.

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The pressure of being so good at such a young age is always immense on the players’ shoulders. But we hope Ja Morant can reach his potential over the next few years because seeing his game at the age of 22 is a sign of an elite player. Ja Morant might just be someone who rules the NBA in the coming years.

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Written by:

Chaitanya Sharma

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Chaitanya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his engineering from SRM University. Having determined an interest in football and basketball, he was inclined towards having a job in the sports industry.
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