While basketball fans were watching the Spurs bring OKC to its knees in NBA Cup play on Sunday, something equally dramatic happened in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns suffered a blowout 31-3 loss to the Chicago Bears. That, with the Browns’ mounting losses, directed the heat on Shedeur Sanders. Amid the storm of criticism, once more Dwyane Wade stood up for the young QB.

In that embarrassing loss, Sanders completed 18-of-35 passes for 177 yards, three interceptions and no touchdowns in his fourth NFL start. The burden of the loss fell on his shoulders as fans wait for him to deliver on his promise to win.

Then there are those like D-Wade, who don’t want to criticize him like everyone else. “I’m gonna go with what I love about Shedeur Sanders. I think he just has an ability that you cannot see with the naked eye. There’s just something special that’s just inside and it’s internal, is in his DNA,” the 3x NBA champion said on his podcast, Timeout this week.

But then he revealed what he loved the most about Sanders. “I just want to see him be successful on the football field like any other fan, but I love when he gets in those press conferences. I love how he handles himself. I love how he stand up for himself. I love how he don’t throw nobody under the bus. I love how he’s a leader, he takes it. Like they try to turn against his coach every time they can… The organization [Cleveland Browns] is in the ‘we need to build’ stage, and so you have to lose to be able to build, right? We know what it is. Some people call it tanking, some people call it rebuilding. Now, with that being said, I love how he would not allow anyone to turn him against anybody.”

The Miami Heat icon mentioned how he was impressed by Shedeur’s answers concerning the play at the end of the loss to Chicago. “He acts like a true professional… A lot of people like to talk about how he’s not a typical quarterback because he got swagger or he talk this… but when he steps up there on the podium, you get to see the leader that he is, and why he’s as special as he is.”

Wade is always excited to watch his press conferences because he knows the media will throw some curveballs, but Shedeur handles them like a true pro. “So bro, I love Shedeur… Somebody made a decision that they wanted to try something else. It’s not what I would have done. It’s not what I wanted to be done. But I love how Shedeur handled it because that’s his team. And win or lose, a leader has to be consistent with their messaging.”

And D-Wade is the authority on that. The Miami Heat took that gamble on the ’03 draft pick and built around him for the next decade. He needs the Browns fans to have that Pat Riley eye.

Deion Sanders’ son has been dealing with this criticism since college. He’s developed a panache for handling the media, and that’s D-Wade’s personal entertainment. In the presser after the Bears game, Sanders took that dignified confidence once more.

Dwyane Wade believes Shedeur Sanders is a long-term investment

When asked about his teammate, Jerry Jeudy’s last-minute turnover, Shedeur said, “I’m not one to ever kick somebody down when he’s down.” Jeudy is also dealing with his fair share of outrage but none from Shedeur. D-Wade hypes Shedeur’s stance and hopes the Browns see what he’s seeing in him.

Watching the Browns lose that way hurt Dwyane Wade too. And there were things he didn’t like, but not by Shedeur. Sanders has thrown for 946 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions across four career starts. Meanwhile, the primary quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has returned to practice after a twice-ruptured ACL. This could put Shedeur’s chances in jeopardy.

While most are speculating whether Shedeur won’t continue as the starting QB, D-Wade wants the Browns to invest in him. He says Shedeur is ” a quarterback that we can build around for 15 years, [as] long as we protect him, he can stay back there.”

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Most would not agree with Sanders. Some are already urging for Watson’s return. But would that change D-Wade’s mind? Hardly.