By james art Kyrie Irving has been widely recognized as one of the most skilled players the NBA has ever seen. His terrifying mix of crossovers, body tricks and near-impossible layups have wowed fans since he was drafted No. 1 in 2011. However, an online video shows Irving crediting Dwyane Wade for one of the moves in his bag.
The move, a step up into a layup, has been Wade’s signature throughout his career. After working tirelessly on it, Wade’s mastery of the maneuver was on full display in the early 2010s when the Miami Heat dominated the NBA. The beauty of this move lay in its simplicity. If a defender knew he was coming overhead, Wade would simply keep the ball close to his chest and make the defender make an easy layup.
The flash was able to create many highlights using its complex movements. But after Irving’s video went viral, Wade revealed that he learned the move from his father, Dwyane Wade Sr. He shared the video on Instagram to his stories, tagging Irving and captioning it: “I got it from my dad.”
This is no surprise. Wade has never shied away from his father’s influence on his basketball career, as he was his first coach. They are very close. The Heat legend even brought his father on stage during his Hall of Fame induction. He famously proclaimed, “We in the Hall of Fame, Grandpa!”
Wade’s Eurostep was so deadly that even Gilbert Arenas, who hated playing against him, could only admire the move. On a September episode of Gil’s Arena, the former Wizards All-Star was asked about the difference between Manu Ginobili’s Euro and Wade’s Euro. arenas said
“Ginobili was really good because you didn’t see it back then. DWade was sharper on the right, it was fresh. He’s coming at you full speed. When he got Kevin Garnett to do a 360 on a Eurostep? I’ll rank it as a 1.”
The Euro in question came in the 2011 playoffs when the Heat hosted the Celtics. The Heat had a slim 3-point lead with 33 seconds left in the second quarter and Wade was going down on Garnett. He surpassed the 2004 MVP by completely turning it around and finished the basket with an easy uncontested layup. It’s clear to see that Dwyane Wade had a killer Eurostep, with simplicity being the key.