“I thought I was going to be before injuries. I’m like MJ, I’m coming for you. I mean, that’s my mentality.” Dwyane Wade was very confident in his abilities. Being a Chicago native, chasing the dreams that Michael Jordan laid the foundations for was always the goal. But unlike Jordan, Wade failed to win the Gold medal in his first Olympics attempt. However, he and others would redeem their efforts in 2008, but there was a chance were the Miami Heat legend was about to be dropped from that team.

Speaking about the experience on his podcast, co-host Bob Metelus asked him about his initial reaction. “I understood it” was Dwyane Wade’s reaction since he was coming from multiple injuries and wasn’t fully fit when the squads were being announced. Only 4 players from the 2004 team were retained and even the Head Coach was changed, plus Kobe Bryant was going to make his Olympic debut. “I did feel a little left out at one point because from 06 to 07 is a whole different team and whole different Alphas brought in.”

It brought a lot of questions to his head, but he tackled them all.”So I had to fix my mind and everything when it came to whatever role I was going to play on the Olympics.” Wade continued, “Because it shifted from 2006 when I had last play when I was the featured you know guy with LeBron. To now Kobe and LeBron are the featured guys, and I just had to shift my mindset and so I did that.”

Coming off winning an NBA championship in season 2006, season 2007 did not start well for Dwyane Wade. Dislocating his shoulder in February, suffered a torn labrum while also incurring pain in his left knee. So he decided to do a same-day knee and shoulder surgeries after the 2007 playoffs. But that wouldn’t solve it all.

There still were complication that followed Wade into the next season. Jerry Colangelo, then-managing director of the USAMBNT said “He wasn’t ready, quite honestly,” of the evaluation before selection of the 2008 team. They, however, went on to select him without knowing if he would be fine, though Wade had asserted, “I’ll be ready.”

He returned to the court two weeks after the 2007-08 NBA season’s opening and was on plane to Beijing before one could realize. Regardless of Wade’s emotions on being replaced, Colangelo believes,“Without him we would not have won,” via Marquette Wire.

Dwyane Wade and his He/Him performance

During The Redeem Team documentary on Netflix, Wade echoed the same sentiment about finding his place.” I was just trying to get myself back, get myself, you know, to that place… But I’m just sitting back watching like ‘Okay, where do I fit in?’ Because I didn’t know if I fit in anymore,” he said.

But Wade finished as the leading scorer, averaging, 16 points with 4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Wade also scored 67.1% field goal and 47.1% three-point shooting. If that was not impressive enough, in the ultimate game, he went berserk against the Spanish side to score a team-high 27 points.

From missing out completely to being the top scorer, Wade wanted to showcase the world, and he did not disappoint. The Flash was not only honest about his own assessment, but recently even credited the 2024 team to be better. He compared it to the Redeem team and said that the roster has much more depth.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.”