Dwyane Wade chases down Eric Bledsoe for rejection

Dwyane Wade shocks the world when he chases down Eric Bledsoe for a block

Dwyane Wade is one of the greatest to ever play the game, but sometimes it’s easy to forget just how great he once was. His dominance as a scorer despite never having a 3-point shot was truly incredible, and he might go down as one of the more underrated defenders of his generation.

What’s rarely ever seen of Wade these days though is his athleticism. A younger Wade was known for being able to jump out of the gym and pull off spectacular plays. Sadly, injuries and age have robbed him of what he used to be. Wade just doesn’t have the ability to play exclusively on athleticism anymore.

This doesn’t mean that Wade is no longer athletic. He just picks and chooses to use that athleticism at times where it benefits him. Tonight, when the Chicago Bulls took on the Phoenix Suns, Wade did just that as he chased down what should have been an easy layup for Eric Bledsoe.

Vintage Wade. There’s no other way to describe it. He perfectly timed his speed and jump right with Bledsoe so he could send that shot away from the rim and it was his pure athleticism that allowed him to do it. There was a time in Wade’s life where he used to make plays like this on a nightly basis. While those days may be behind him this gives us an opportunity to enjoy the small flashbacks.