Shaquille O’Neal-Dwight Howard’s age-old beef to this day shows how important and personal nicknames can be in the world of sports. Stephen A. Smith seems to have a good enough realization of this. This would explain why the 57-year-old ESPN analyst is defending Dwyane Wade’s identity with everything he has got, despite the recent difference of opinions with the Miami Heat icon. The fact that Smith was coming down heavily against his nephew, Josh Smith, shows his strong belief in Wade’s identity as Flash.
“… There’s only one flash, and that’s Dwayne Wade,” Smith said. And when his nephew, Josh, playfully tried acting he didn’t recognize Dwyane Wade as Flash, Stephen A. could not just hold it in.
“Be gone. Be gone… 3x NBA Champion, the hall of famer, one of the greatest off guards in the history of basketball, that dude. Suddenly, you don’t know who he is,” the ESPN analyst said, with a clear frustration in his voice.
This comes from Smith despite his difference of opinion with Wade on the whole LeBron James controversy. As most fans would know by now, Bron publicly confronted Stephen A. during the Los Angeles Lakers game against the New York Knicks. King James had issues with the ESPN analyst’s coverage of Bronny James and he did not shy away in showing his frustration.
“I have a personal relationship with Stephen A. Obviously, have a relationship with LeBron, and my relationship with Bron is documented…as a person who wants to stay on both sides, I told him as a father, ‘I’m walking up on you’,” Wade had said of the whole controversy.
However, the lack of complete support from Dwyane Wade does not mean Smith is letting anyone undermine Wade’s identity as Flash, which was given to him by Shaquille O’Neal when he landed with the Miami Heat.
Dwyane Wade was not so excited about his nickname from Shaq
Dwyane Wade and the nickname Flash go hand in hand, but believe it or not, he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it at first. And who was behind it? None other than the marketing genius himself—Shaquille O’Neal.
Wade recalled the moment it all started. “It was preseason, he and I were in the locker room because we didn’t play that preseason game. We were sitting back there, and he was like, ‘I gotta find you a nickname.’” Wade wasn’t sold. “I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t really need a nickname.’ I wanted to be in the same breath as Bird, Jordan, just one name. Like Cher, like Madonna. But he wanted to get me a nickname.”
April 1, 2023: Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade speaks during his jersey retirement ceremony on Feb. 22, 2020, in Miami Copyright: xMichaelxLaughlinx
Shaq wasn’t letting it go. He locked in on Wade, studying him before finally declaring, “I got it.” When the media came in after the game, Shaq introduced the world to Flash. Wade didn’t love it at first, but that changed fast. “I was traveling to different cities and arenas, and everybody was calling me Flash.”
In the end, the name fit like a glove—just like Wade’s electrifying speed and jaw-dropping finishes at the rim. No wonder Stephen A. Smith is not letting anyone question it. Not even his own nephew!
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