Throughout the recently completed NBA playoffs, Dwyane Wade found himself the target of criticism about his age and suddenly diminished athleticism. There was a reason for that: Compared to his first title, and even the Heat’s runs in 2011 and 2012, Wade appeared old, with concerns about his knees and his ability to play a strong second banana to LeBron’s Michael Jordan act.
Luckily for the Heat, Wade came through in some of the biggest moments and Miami won another title. Luckily for the Wade family, Dwyane isn’t the last talented hoopster to carry the surname.
As first posted by City League Hoops, and featured in the video above, Zaire Wade has emerged as one of the nation’s top fifth grade boys basketball players. The younger Wade completely tore apart the competition at the recent John Lucas Future of the Game camp and emerged as one of the most impressive young point guards on offer.
While Zaire Wade (anyone care to take a wager on how long it will be before someone nicknames him Congo or DRC?) may be as thin as any other beansprout shooting fifth grader, he shows plenty of the athletic gifts of his father, not to mention a similar deadly first step on his cuts to the basket.
Zaire Wade has also shown a knack to take over leadership of his scrimmage squads, an act similar to his father, who now shares those duties with James (he also seems to share the sense of humor both his father and LeBron show, but that’s another story).
Dwyane Wade appears to share something else with James, too: Zaire Wade’s affections. Given the fact that his father is a highly paid athlete who has his own sneakers (made by Chinese company Li-Ning, unlike LeBron's Nikes), one might assume that young Zaire would compete proudly sporting the latest D-Wades. He doesn’t. Instead, he played at the Future of the Game event wearing the latest LeBrons.
All the more proof of the new King of South Beach, and just where Zaire Wade sees himself in the future. Given his skills at the age of 10, he just might get there, too.
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