Regretting NBA Draft, Dwyane Wade’s Ex-Teammate Confesses Over Life-Changing Career Mistake

The best person to guide rookies and new talents on a team is a veteran player. Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade himself knows this very well. His former teammate realized it for the first time when he entered the Miami Heat as a rookie. Although surrounded by some of the best talents in the league, the former NBA player initially thought he had made a mistake entering the NBA. However, his opinion soon changed. Thanks to a little nudge from his veteran teammates, he now recounts that experience as simply a challenge that he overcame.

Dorell Wright recently sat for a chat with J.R. Smith on the Par 3 Podcast. During the conversation, Wright explained how he entered the NBA draft right after high school. And he recalled that while other players were getting good playing time on the court, he felt he wasn’t talented enough to earn more time on court.

This made him think he had probably made a mistake entering the NBA draft. Speaking of other players, he said, “I’m looking like like dang like I ain’t good enough. I made a mistake with playing basketball that’s kind of how I felt.” 

However, the veteran players convinced him that his playing time would increase as long as he continued to put in the work. Wright praised his former teammates, including Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, and other veterans, who guided him throughout his rookie journey. He added, “I had guys like DWade, Shaq, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, they let me know like bro, your time is going to come you just got to continue to put that work in.”

He emphasized how playing for a great organization like the Heat and alongside the best players helped him learn leadership skills and more. “That’s kind of hard to say to a 18year old…I’m like man get the hell out of my face, that’s some BS. All my boys playing why I ain’t playing but the fact that I was able to you know be around veteran players and being a first class organization it allowed me to have longevity in the league,” he explained.

He also learned to focus more on his game rather than partying, adapting to a disciplined off-court lifestyle. And it’s not just Wright with all the funny stories. His former teammate O’Neal also shared a hilarious story about the rookie Wright once.

Shaquille O’Neal teaches rookie Dorell Wright a lesson

O’Neal has always been one of the most entertaining players in the league. He has pranked almost everyone he knows to date. And Wright? He was also quite similar to the basketball legend. But while the 4X NBA Champ loved the pranks, he also wanted everyone to take him seriously. 

“When I’m on a team, I’m the president, I am the emperor, so when you’re a rookie, do what I say, man, or I got to show you how to get down like this was around the time you could really put hands on people,” Shaq said on The Big podcast with Shaq. And when a then-rookie failed to do so, O’Neal decided to teach him a lesson.

“So I told him to do something. He didn’t do it, and he’s also similar to me ’cause he’s a jokester, he thought I was playing… I chased him around the locker room. I was butt naked. He was just getting out of the shower,” O’Neal shared about the former Miami Heat player. This was just one of the many stories. And like Wright said before, he has also learned a lot from the Lakers legend as well as his best buddy Wade.