Dwyane Wade nearly decapitates Paul Millsap (Video)

Dwyane Wade tried to block Paul Millsap’s shot but ended up smacking his face. 

Dwyane Wade is one of the greatest shot-blocking guards in NBA history. His six seasons with at least 1.0 block per game are the most by any player standing at 6’4″ or smaller.

Thus, it comes as a surprise to no one when Wade goes all-out on a defensive play that could result in a blocked shot. Sometimes, that simply doesn’t go as planned.

In Atlanta Hawks star Paul Millsap’s case, he likely wishes it had.

Wade missed the ball, but he connected squarely with Millsap’s face.

The bad news for the Hawks isn’t that Millsap was hit in the head, but instead that his knee bent awkwardly beneath him on the landing. Fortunately, his slight limp didn’t force him out of the game.

Instead, Millsap continues to build up yet another impressive stat line.

If this play is bringing back memories, it’s likely because it’s similar to something that’s happened before. Wade infamously broke and bloodied Kobe Bryant’s nose during the 2012 NBA All-Star Game with a hard foul on an attempted block.

Clearly, this play was different from the Millsap foul in both structure and result.

The good news for both sides is that Wade wasn’t ejected and Millsap wasn’t hurt in a severe enough manner to leave the game. Both will continue on in this clash between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat.

If a division rivalry and a shared realistic desire to win the Eastern Conference weren’t enough to create tension, this most certainly will be.