Anatomy of the Shot

Dwyane Wade Discusses How His Career-Threatening Injuries Fueled His Fire for Change.

By: Laurence Bass
photographer: Ryan Kobane

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Defense is a tactic predicated on instinct and the knowledge of an opponent’s tendencies. If a momentary lapse in judgment favors one over the other, than a game of pure skill becomes one of mere chance. Waiting with his fingers crossed has never been in Dwyane Wade’s repertoire. For him, a second is a lifetime and a minute is an eternity—neither to be wasted.

The 2009 NBA playoffs were 20 games away when the Miami Heat hosted the Chicago Bulls. After four quarters, eight ties, nine lead changes and 11.2 seconds away from reaching a third overtime, the Bulls and Heat were tied at 127. The Heat faithful rallied for their team as Bulls’ forward John Salmons dribbled the ball atop the key. The Wade-anchored Heat adhered to the crowd’s boisterous chant of DE-FENSE by eliminating all options. The game clock raced past the remaining 6.2 seconds when Salmons attempted to drive through Miami’s swarming zone defense. His poor decision proved costly.

“When I got the steal, the first thing that came to mind is that Coach [Spoelstra] said we had a time-out, but then I looked up at the clock and said to myself ‘Hmmm—you have space—go for it’,” Wade recollects. More than 19,000 fans rose to their feet once he took the game into his hands. Running against the clock with the Chicago Bulls on his heels; Wade crossed half court with 2.3 seconds remaining. Knowing that driving to the basket for a dunk was out of the question, he pulled up for a shot from three-point-range. The ball was airborne as the buzzer sounded and touched nothing but the bottom of the net summoning the crowd’s ovation. “When I released the ball, I knew it was in,” Wade says, his voice brimming with confidence. “It’s the greatest game winner of my career to date.”