“D Wade Was the Flash”: Ignoring Shaquille O’Neal’s Presence, Former NBA Champion Gives Heat Legend His Props for 17-Year-Old Triumph

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Shaquille O’Neal won his fourth ring in 2006. Even though it was his 4th, for the Miami Heat, it was their first championship in league history. Even with Diesel dominating and being an All-Star that year, the finals MVP was given to his partner in crime, Dwyane Wade. Years later, NBA champions Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye give their props for the flash while choosing to ignore Shaquille O’Neal’s impact in the 2006 NBA finals.

In a new video by Road Trippin, Allie Clifton, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye revealed their takes on NBA theories.

Leaving out Shaquille O’Neal for Dwyane Wade’s glory

During the podcast, Allie Clifton told them, Dwyane Wade had 96 free throw attempts over six games in the 2006 NBA finals. The question asked was if he deserved to get all those calls.

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She explained to them how many free throws he attempted during the finals and his overall impact. In game 5 of the series, Dwyane Wade himself scored 35 free throws, and the Dallas Mavericks as a whole shot 25 free throws in that game.

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Allie Clifton said, “It’s still insane to get 97 free throws“. To this, Channing Frye replied, “He (Dwyane Wade) was insane“. Then Richard Jefferson said, “D. Wade was the flash“.

They said that Shaquille O’Neal was not the same player he used to be when he was with the Lakers. They still needed to have two people with Shaq to hold him down, but it wasn’t a constant threat to get scored on by him. Dwyane Wade kept pushing to the basket on every possession, and he deserved all the foul calls.

The Mavs didn’t have anyone to stop Wade. And he still had to make all the shots. He is not a player with the shooting ability of Stephen Curry, so it was impressive of him to make those shots, according to Richard Jefferson.

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The Flash and Diesel in the 2006 NBA Finals

Shaq was traded to Miami from LA and signed a 5-year, $100 million contract. The Heat reached the conference finals in his first season there. In the following season, the stars aligned for them to lift their first trophy.

In the finals against the Mavericks, Shaq averaged 13.7 PTS and 10.2 REB. But Dwyane Wade’s contribution to the team was on another level. The Heat went down 0-2 against the Mavs, and then Dwyane Wade averaged 39.3 PPG in the next 4 games to give Miami their first title. Dwyane Wade made 75 free throws in the six-game series and is tied for second for most free throws in NBA finals history.

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This performance from Dwyane Wade later can be looked at as a reason why LeBron James joined the Heat a few years later. Do you agree with Richard Jefferson on whether Wade deserved all the calls he got?