(Photo Courtesy of the NBA)
We are nearing the 20-year anniversary of Dwyane Wade’s miraculous 2006 NBA Finals run with the Miami Heat to help secure their first-ever championship.
Down 2-0, Wade put together one of the most special four-game Finals runs in history. But, unsurprisingly, it’s not viewed that way by those formerly associated with the Mavericks.
On multiple occasions, former Mavericks principal owner and current minority owner, Mark Cuban, has accused the series of being “stolen” from them, including in late August on an appearance on the DLLS Mavs podcast.
Wade responded earlier this week.
“Mark, stop saying that,” he said. “We beat y’all. Did we get foul calls? Everybody gets foul calls. We can all go back and point (to an instance). I can go back and point in (the 2011 NBA Finals) when [Dirk Nowitzki] had 48 (points) — he had 24 free-throws. Does that mean that the refs rewarded them the win? I don’t know, but it wasn’t rigged. Like, we still gotta play the game.
“You got a young guy that’s becoming a star in the NBA. Did a get a few whistles? Yes. But was I the only one attacking the basket every play? Probably so. I’m going to get some whistles too. I will get some calls because they were fouling.
“You’re not about to tarnish the work I put in as a young guy, to do something not a lot of young guys have done in this game and say it’s rigged. Mark, stop that. Y’all got us, we got y’all. Stop that bulls–t, Mark.”
It’s not surprising that Cuban, who sold majority ownership of the Mavericks in 2023, feels that way. Most Mavericks fans probably do, too. But Wade did relentlessly attack the basket that series and got hacked practically every time he rose up around the rim.
In the series’ final four games, Wade averaged 39.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals and one block. He was in his third NBA season, a feat that hasn’t been repeated since. He did average 18.3 free-throw attempts over that span, but the cheap fouls were few and far between.
Wade’s 2006 NBA Finals is one of the best takeovers of the 21st century — given the circumstances at his age. We may never see another like it for a while. That’s not to say that Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Williams, Udonis Haslem, James Posey and Antoine Walker, among others, don’t deserve credit — but Wade was the guy when it mattered most.
Did you think any part of the 2006 NBA Finals was rigged? Let us know in the comments!
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