Many big names across the basketball world have reflected on their interactions with the legendary Michael Jordan in the lead up to "The Last Dance" documentary series' release, but Dwyane Wade's first time meeting His Airness may take the cake.
D-Wade recently told The Athletic's Joe Vardon that after he was drafted by the Miami Heat with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Chicago native's friends and family threw him a party to celebrate the accomplishment back home. According to the future 13-time NBA All-Star, Jordan came to the party to congratulate him — or he tried to go, at least.
"I'm inside the draft party, and it was poppin'," Wade recalled. "I remember my cousin came and got me, and he was like, 'Yo, Jordan's here. They won't let him in.' I'm like, 'What, man? Stop playing with me.' And he was like, 'Bro, I'm serious. Michael Jordan is outside with like 50 people. They won't let him in.'"
As a longtime fan of Jordan's after watching him play for his hometown Bulls throughout his childhood, Wade said he was "in awe" that his childhood idol came to congratulate him.
"I couldn't believe it," he added.
Wade raced to the door to investigate the situation and, when he asked the people up front why they wouldn't let the six-time NBA champion into the party, they said Jordan refused to pay at the door.
"I think he said something about them trippin' at the front or something like that," Wade recalled Jordan telling him once they finally met face to face. "But he's like, 'I just wanted to come by and show you some love. Congratulations on getting drafted.' And I was just like, 'Man, thank you for coming.' I couldn't believe it. 'Thank you for coming. You want to come in?' And he's like, 'Nah, nah, we good. I just came by to show you some love.'"
"And he rode off on his motorcycle," Wade added.
Though he didn't appear alongside the star-studded cast of characters featured in the trailer for "The Last Dance," Wade will undoubtedly tune in for Sunday night's debut. The 10-part series, which focuses on Jordan's final NBA championship run with the Bulls over the 1997-1998 season, has come with much fanfare given Jordan's status as the widely-regarded NBA GOAT and the current lack of live sports due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the United States, ESPN will broadcast two hour-long episodes from the documentary series each Sunday beginning April 19 at 9 p.m ET.
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