Dwyane Wade recently shared the feeling of being in the presence of Michael Jordan back in 2022 during the NBA’s Top 75 players celebration. Wade gushed about MJ’s aura and the way he talked trash to his fellow legends such as Magic Johnson.
Wade was the most recent guest on Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast with Kid Mero. One of the topics they discussed was the 75th Anniversary Celebration in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland. They both shared what it was like when Jordan arrived for the ceremony.
“The sh*t talking in the room was crazy but the moment was when MJ came and the motherf**ker…. Let me tell you something. When he walked through, everything changed. Man, when MJ came in, it get silence,” Wade said.
“We’re talking about aura…. He was sizing everybody from the tunnel. ‘Man, I’d bust your a**. Like he was sizing everybody up.”
Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t believe they were in the same room as Michael Jordan, as well as other legendary players such as Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They were in awe that Jordan was talking trash at Magic and even challenged him to a one-on-one game.
MJ and Magic’s video backstage from the NBA Top 75 celebration went viral since people couldn’t believe how serious the Chicago Bulls legend was. Jordan was known for his competitiveness, and 20 years after his final retirement, it was still there.
There was a time early in his career when Dwyane Wade felt that he was going to be better than Michael Jordan. Wade explained on the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast with Carmelo Anthony and Kid Mero that he was motivated to past MJ before injuries slowed down his career.
“When I had it, I had it. I thought I was going to be, before injuries, I’m like, ‘MJ I’m coming for you.’ I mean that’s my mentality. I thought I was coming for MJ. I’m like I’m going to be the greatest because I figured it out very early in the league. Right in my second year, I knew,” Wade said.
Wade’s career took off very early and won his first NBA championship in just his third season in the league. He then became one of the best players in the league before injuries slowed him down in the 2010s.
That’s when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined him in Miami to win two more NBA championships in four Finals appearances. He retired in 2019 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.