MIAMI — The formality came Wednesday: Dwyane Wade was named a candidate for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coronation for the iconic former Miami Heat guard will come Aug. 12 at the Springfield, Mass., shrine.
What likely will set up as a first-ballot, unanimous-selection career included three Heat NBA championships, and the rest of the enshrinement process will merely stand as protocol for Wade. The finalists will be revealed Feb. 17 at NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City (where Wade is a part-owner of the Utah Jazz) and the Class of 2023 will be announced April 1, during the NCAA’s Final Four weekend.
Unlike the traditional inductions on the September weekend after Labor Day, the Hall will induct this year’s class on Aug. 12.
Wade will become the eighth Hall of Famer with ties to playing or coaching tenures with the Heat, joining previous enshrinees Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Pat Riley and Tim Hardaway, who was inducted earlier this year.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said there already are plans to have that second week of August clear from any other obligations.
“I can’t wait for it,” Spoelstra said, “because we all know how Dwyane is. He’s going to throw a party that’s going to be one for the ages. And I’ve only been to the Hall of Fame twice, for Pat’s party, which was unbelievable; that was a lot of fun, because all of the Laker crew was there, and I’m still a fan and a historian of the game. So that one was really fun.
“CB’s was incredible. And it was cool just to get the whole gang back together. And I think this will take it to a whole other level.”
It will be a hectic summer for Spoelstra, who also will serve as an assistant to Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr for the Aug. 25-Sept. 10 World Cup in the Philippines, which will mean a USA Basketball training camp in advance of that tournament.
“And I know I do have some summer engagements, but I ain’t missing it,” Spoelstra said of Wade’s induction. “I will fly back to wherever I have to fly back for that weekend.”
Wade’s No. 3 was retired by the Heat in February 2020, 10 months after he closed out his NBA career with the Heat, putting him on the clock for 2023 induction. The Heat add a Hall of Fame designation to the retired-number banners of each of their players so honored, as already has been the case with Mourning, O’Neal, Bosh and Hardaway.
Also among those on the list of first-time nominees released Tuesday by the Hall were Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich and the 1976 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.
Others on the nomination list with South Florida ties include University of Miami coach Jim Larrañaga, former University of Miami and current Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton and former Heat forward Shawn Marion.
