Dwyane Wade on 2006 NBA Finals: I received favorable calls from refs because I was constantly attacking the basket

[Rupert Murdoch]

Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the Miami Heat’s first NBA championship. It’s a day for the franchise to celebrate.

But it was also a day that led Dwyane Wade to Instagram to address those that have used the anniversary to make the argument that the Heat, specifically Wade, used favorable officiating to beat the Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

“There’s a lot of coverage on the 2006 NBA Finals right now,” Wade wrote on Instagram. “One because it was the most controversial Finals to date and today makes exactly 10 years to the date we won our first-ever title as an organization and me as a player. It was one of the greatest moments in my life and probably one of the worst for the Dallas Mavericks. That’s sports.

“We’ve all had our moments to feel both ways. Now what I’m reading about the series is unfair to me as a basketball player. Did I get some calls that I could have played through? YES. We all do. But was I attacking every time I touch the ball? YES. This picture is an example of a play in Game 5 that everyone said I didn’t get fouled on. Listen, most athletes have never committed a foul but D-Harris [Devin Harris] my guy, this is a foul, haa. All in all, we did find a way to beat a team that was a much better team than us that season. But they got their payback in 2011 as a franchise, so in my mind it’s a wash. But I am proud to take a look back at these moments and say I had a hand in us winning our first ever championship. #2006”

http://heatzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/06/20/dwyane-wade-addresses-critics-on-10-year-anniversary-of-2006-nba-finals/

[Usual Suspects]

Love the frank comments by D-Wade.

[dyukcs]

That still was a push off by Wade on Harris. He just doesnt want people spoiling his high. He still didn't drive enough to the tune of most fta by any player in finals history meanwhile Dirk couldn't by a call on the other end. That series has a reputation for a god damn reason, too many people have spoke out about it outside of the Mavericks organization for a reason.

[BloodNinja]

There's a reason he was named D-Whistle after that series

[Heat3]

That still was a push off by Wade on Harris. He just doesnt want people spoiling his high. He still didn't drive enough to the tune of most fta by any player in finals history meanwhile Dirk couldn't by a call on the other end. That series has a reputation for a god damn reason, too many people have spoke out about it outside of the Mavericks organization for a reason.

Couldn't buy a call? He had 2nd mostFt in the series. Same amount as he had in the previous round. More than shaq whom Dallas was intentionally hacking. Lmao in an earlier seria he had 80 FTs lol. Jump shooting big man. Smh. Shouldn't have been soft and taken it to the hole.

[LakersLegacy]

I think it was because Mark Cuban threatened to attend the championship parade in a speedo bathing suit! The NBA had to take action!!'

[BJGOAT3]

He had great momentum going with the calls that refs were giving and he smartly attacked the basket with persistence all the way through. I don't think it was ever fair to criticise Wade or the Heat for that series anyways. However refs definitely deserved the criticism they got in that series.

[rallydurham]

Worst officiating ever. Even jordan never gotten handed such egregious calls.

It was an absolute joke

[ccameron]

OP title is misleading. He didn't say he was getting favorable treatment. He said everybody sometimes gets calls that you get that you can play through. It happens more often when you are always attacking just because of the volume. But the opposite also happens -- more occasions where calls are missed, which nobody ever brings up. BBallbreakdown had a good video on exactly this for the 2006 series. Wade got a few favorable calls, and other calls were missed that should have been called. The refs wasn't the reason the Heat won.

I'm glad Wade posted the picture of the supposed "phantom call"


He could have posted others, too, because Nowitzki was the one called for the foul, but regardless of who the foul was called on, nobody can complain about that call.
There's lots of things that could be said about that series, but it's been said many times for those actually interested in looking back at it.

[Devassa]

It was garbage officiating the entire game, not just the 1 play... Nobody is/was blaming D-Wade for it.. It was just some of the worst officiating the game had ever seen in a Playoff format nonetheless

[Quotatious]

Like I said a few days ago in another thread - Wade was able to dominate that year even without help from the refs. ECF against Detroit (arguably a better team than Dallas, and certainly a better defensive team), where he shot almost 62% FG and only 8.7 FTA (compared to 10.7 in the regular season), should be a sufficient proof of that.

Besides, he's absolutely right. Attacking the basket like he did, when you are an all-time great athlete and arguably the GOAT slasher, is gonna put you on the FT line a ton. Jordan and LeBron had series when they averaged a similar amount of FTAs, too (Jordan averaged 13.5 FTA for the entire 1989 playoffs, compared to 10.9 or Wade, and LeBron averaged 14.2 FTA for the entire 2009 playoffs, 15.7 in the Orlando series). Wade isn't the only guy who did that.

[JonFromVA]

One thing that seemingly changed in the 2000's (post-Jordan) is that refs stopped rewarding players for driving in to a crowd and initiating contact. Somehow this flip-flopped for Wade in the 2006 finals. Yes, he was aggressive, yes he took advantage of how the game was being called, and yes ... Mark Cuban was eventually proven right ... the NBA needed to clean house and shake up if not flush out the good old boy network the referees union had become.

[RatherUnique]

Shaq was getting doubled because of his reputation, even though he had completely ran out of gas by June. Poor coaching from Avery.

Wade was going 1on1 with a bunch of dudes who didn't have the footspeed to consistently stay in front of him, even when they gave Wade a cushion. To prevent layups, they fouled him. Period.

[ZB9]

Jump shooting big man. Smh. Shouldn't have been soft and taken it to the hole.

Did you watch NBA that year or are you too young? Dirk DID take it to the hole back then, but you dont have to drive it to the hole to get fouled. The strategy against Dirk back then was to be physical with him all over the court and beat him up. The Heat were allowed to do that. Even Phil Jackson said that they were letting Miami mug Dirk and that DIrk should have gotten more calls.

The worst thing about that finals isn't that Wade got the most FTA's in the history of the finals, it's that the calls were so one sided. The Heat got calls while the Mavs didnt. The Heat were allowed to play physical against the mavs while the mavs werent allowed to even look at Wade without a whistle.

btw, about the picture of the foul Salvatore called with 1.9 seconds left in game 5. fyi, they called the foul on Dirk, not on Harris and when do you ever see touch fouls called with less than 3 seconds left at the end of a tie game in the playoffs much less the finals?

Anyway, nothing against Wade. He adjusted to the way that the game was being officiated. He did everything he could to win that series and left it all on the court. He was a warrior. (although the crap he talked about DIrk was uncalled for but Dirk got him back a few years later)...The problem with that series is with the refs and their one sided corrupt officiating.

[Texas Chuck]

That still was a push off by Wade on Harris. He just doesnt want people spoiling his high. He still didn't drive enough to the tune of most fta by any player in finals history meanwhile Dirk couldn't by a call on the other end. That series has a reputation for a god damn reason, too many people have spoke out about it outside of the Mavericks organization for a reason.

Couldn't buy a call? He had 2nd mostFt in the series. Same amount as he had in the previous round. More than shaq whom Dallas was intentionally hacking. Lmao in an earlier seria he had 80 FTs lol. Jump shooting big man. Smh. Shouldn't have been soft and taken it to the hole.

I'm hoping this is just you reacting poorly to that other post. Because Miami fans of all people should know better in regards to Dirk.


Oh and Wade is 100% right.

[CrazyB0y]

worst reffed finals ever

the only one who defend the outcome are Heat homers.

PS: funny how Wade posted a picture with Harris touching him. why not posting what happened 0.5 seconds earlier? yep, because the clear as day elbow push off by him wasn't called...

[ZB9]

PS: funny how Wade posted a picture with Harris touching him. why not posting what happened 0.5 seconds earlier? yep, because the clear as day elbow push off by him wasn't called...

He committed a backcourt violation also, which the league admitted.

[AJ37]

LOL at people arguing about calls from 10 years ago.

[Quiet-Dude]

I was so happy for Zo Payton Walker Posey Jason Williams, damn so much deserved champs on that team. MY fav championship team ever

[MartyConlonJr]

PS: funny how Wade posted a picture with Harris touching him. why not posting what happened 0.5 seconds earlier? yep, because the clear as day elbow push off by him wasn't called...

He committed a backcourt violation also, which the league admitted.

http://www.espn.com.au/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2492756