A young Terry Rozier idolized Dwyane Wade, perhaps more than some thought, going as far as trying to replicate the constant hard falls the Miami Heat superstar would take on a daily basis in the NBA hardwood. The Boston Celtics point guard would imitate what he saw in a young D-Wade, going to measures no one thought he would take.
“At the rec center, I'd be there by myself. Lights shut off. [I] always had access to the gym. I used to make sure I'd get in there when nobody else could. I used to just fall,” Rozier told Clay Skipper of GQ. “I loved D-Wade. D-Wade is my idol. I'd go crazy over him when I was young—he and Michael Vick. D-Wade had a commercial, “Fall six times, get up seven.” He used to always fall a lot. I'd throw up a crazy shot and just fall. Get up, practice it again. That's just who I was. Everybody used to say, “Why is he falling?”
Rozier is referring to an old Converse commercial sporting the motto: “Fall seven times, why not 8?” which showed Wade falling repeatedly throughout his career as a high school player at Richards High, as a college freshman in Marquette, and as a young NBA player — taking punishing hits on his way to the basket.
Rozier craved to emanate that same toughness and carved that same mentality by taking falls on the empty gym, mimicking Wade's willingness to absorb punishment and keep coming.
Ironically enough, Wade's falls during the early part of his career have taken a toll on his knees — a huge part of why he mulled retirement throughout this offseason, despite choosing to return for his 16th and last NBA campaign.
Follow Us
Subscribe