In this special episode of The Checkin with Dwyane Wade, Dwyane and Bob reunite the 2006 Miami Heat championship team to celebrate 20 years since the title. Shaq, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker, and Dorell Wright all pull up for the conversation.

The crew kicks off comparing themselves to current players, Shaq debates Wemby vs. Gobert for Zo, UD sees himself in Bam, and Dwyane calls Anthony Edwards his modern equivalent. Shaq opens up about sacrificing his numbers to empower Dwyane as the star, and admits his real motivation for winning was getting a ring before Kobe. Zo shares how a serious kidney illness made him take a massive pay cut just to get back and chase a title.

They talk about Pat Riley taking over and immediately bringing accountability, defining roles, and forcing the team to actually know each other’s families. And they own being the most unserious championship team ever, 41 parties on the road, three hour practices, until Shaq convinced Riley to move practice to the afternoon.

UD gets his flowers from everyone in the room for how he locked down Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwyane closes it out sharing that his whole motivation was making sure Shaq, Zo, and GP got the championships their legacies deserved. 

@MiamiHeat


Music Credit: Khari Mateen.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​



What We Discussed:
00:00 Introduction 
00:37 Player Comparisons: Who Would You Be In Today’s Game?
08:41 Shaq’s Arrival And Defining Roles In Miami 
11:53 Motivations: Chasing Kobe And Closing Windows 
15:55 Proving The Doubters Wrong 
17:10 Role Players Stepping Up
20:27: The Turning Point: When They Knew They Could Win It All
24:49 Pay Riley Takes Over: Accountability And New Rotations 
27:53 Changing The Culture: Forced Bonding And Pushing Back Practice 
30:17 Work Hard, Play Hard: The “Unserious” Partying Team
31:07 Hometown Hero
34:32 A Tight-Knit Brotherhood: 100 Fights But No Grudges
36:22 The Young Guy’s Perspective: Dorell Wright 
38:15 Throwbacks: Draft Rivalries And The “Malik Allen Game”
40:57 The Aftermath: How Winning The  Championship Actually Felt 
44:39 Gary Payton’s Decision To Come Back
46:13 Doing It Their Way And The Bond They Share 
48:32 D-Wade’s Motivation
49:45 Collecting Debts: Shaq’s Unfulfilled Bentley Promise 

#MiamiHeat #Checkin #DwyaneWade #2006Champions #HeatNation