Meeting NBA legend Michael Jordan is a benchmark moment for anyone. For Dwayne Wade, it was one that almost didn't happen the way it was supposed to happen.

Wade wasn't expecting to meet His Airness until they crossed paths during his NBA career, but he got to experience that interaction just a touch before he laced them up for the Miami Heat:

“I just got drafted to the Heat, and then going back to Chicago after that, they had a big draft party,” Wade told Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “And I’m inside the draft party, and it was poppin’. I remember my cousin came and got me, and he was like, ‘Yo, Jordan’s here. They won’t let him in.’ I’m like, ‘What, man? Stop playing with me.’ And he was like, ‘Bro, I’m serious. Michael Jordan is outside with like 50 people. They won’t let him in.’

“So we run out the door, run up front where they won’t let him in. ‘Why y’all won’t let Jordan in?’ Somebody was like, ‘He wouldn’t pay.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ So I run outside and Michael Jordan is out there on a motorcycle, surrounded by like 30 dudes. I run up to him. I’m in awe, of course, a young kid. And he said, ‘I just wanted to come by and show you some love.’ I think he said something about them trippin’ at the front, or something like that. But he’s like, ‘I just wanted to come by and show you some love. Congratulations on getting drafted.’ And I was just like, ‘Man, thank you for coming.’ I couldn’t believe it. ‘Thank you for coming. You want to come in?’ And he’s like, ‘Nah, nah, we good. I just came by to show you some love.’ And he rode off on his motorcycle.”

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It seems Jordan expected a free pass into Wade's NBA Draft party, and why wouldn't he? After giving the city of Chicago six NBA titles and countless memories during his tenure as a player, it's usually harder to find places where Jordan has to drop a coin.

Luckily for Wade, he made it out in time to meet and greet the GOAT, who had the tact to stay a little longer to congratulate him personally after he was taken with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.