Dwyane Wade’s NBA career was nothing short of spectacular. He won three NBA titles and was a 13-time All-Star, making him one of basketball’s greatest. What’s more? He is also considered to be one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history. But it seems that his journey almost ended even before it began. How so? In college, Wade wasn’t doing too well with his academics. It is well known that his grades were so poor that it almost ended his chances to play Division 1!
Wade once described his test scores as “My first set of scores wasn’t bad; they were disastrous.” In his own words, the numbers were so bad that they could have stopped his career in its tracks. Despite this, Marquette’s coach, Tom Crean, believed in him. Crean told Wade he could join the team, but not play or travel until he qualified academically. Wade’s struggles didn’t end there, his scores worsened on the third attempt. Can you imagine how hard it must have been to keep faith in his dream during such a difficult time?
On The Timeout, Wade recently broke down what that redshirt year looked like. “So my journey is, I start off, my whole first year in college, I redshirted,” he said. He had to wait while everyone else played. “You want to talk about, I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, and my first year of D1 college, I have to sit out the entire year?” That time forced him to stay ready without knowing if his moment would even come.
He didn’t just sit on the sidelines. “I go in the gym when the team’s on the road. I’m playing at the same time.” Wade shared how he’d tell coaches to put music on so it felt like a real game. “Sometimes I’m in the gym at 7:30, because I want to get myself prepared.” Even without recognition, he gave it everything. “It was days where I did not want to do it. It was days that you working your a** off. And there’s no reward.” Wade’s year of silence, grind, and isolation was his turning point.
“But I had to sit out a whole year to do that. And once I got my moment, my opportunity… well, it was over. I didn’t look back.” That redshirt season wasn’t just about waiting, it was about getting ready for an opportunity. And it seems that while he ended up working hard for his basketball career, as a result, his academics tanked. But everything seems to have worked out for him, and looking back, even he must be amused about the situation he found himself in.
The ACT scores that nearly ended Dwyane Wade’s dream
Wade’s numbers speak for themselves: over 23,000 points, a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, among other things. But none of it would’ve happened if he had listened to the people who told him he wasn’t good enough on paper. “This is a game that I fought very hard to play,” Wade told CBS back in 2021. The fight didn’t start on the court. It began in classrooms, courtrooms, and moments when life tried to shut the door.
As a kid from the south side of Chicago, he didn’t have a smooth path. “My mom went to jail when I was 9. My dad was in and out of jail,” he said. Then came the academic wall. “Growing up, I did not pass my ACT test to go to college.” Wade dreamed of playing at Michigan, inspired by the Fab Five. But after seeing his scores, they pulled their interest. He admitted, “They sucked,” talking about his grades. That dream was crushed before it could even form.
Nov 9, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Heat defeated the Mavericks 105-96. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Still, Marquette’s Tom Crean didn’t walk away. Instead, he doubled down. “[Crean said], ‘Look, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re coming here and we’ll stay with everything as planned.’” That plan included everything but playing or traveling. Wade wasn’t cleared to compete. And when his third ACT score dropped even lower, he remembered breaking down with Crean. “We both cried,” Wade shared. It wasn’t just about the score, it was the weight of everything he’d been carrying.
Soon after, another life challenge came: his girlfriend got pregnant. That moment could’ve sent him in a different direction, but Wade held his ground. Crean didn’t push him. Instead, he stood beside him. “‘Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I’m here and we’ll get through this together,’” Crean told him. It wasn’t a promise of success, it was a promise of support. And sometimes, that’s all someone chasing a dream needs.
That support gave Wade space to regroup. He sat out that freshman year and leaned into tutoring. Eventually, his academics caught up to his game. The next year, he exploded. In 2003, he led Marquette to the Final Four, a feat they hadn’t seen since 1977. “No matter, I was sold all the same,” Wade wrote about joining the program. Sold not just on basketball, but on belief, trust, and a coach who saw the man beyond the numbers.
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