Dwyane Wade Reflects On Friendship W/ Kobe Bryant During Heat Jersey Retirement

NBA legend Dwyane Wade was at the Dwyane Wade Remembers Kobe Bryant at his Hersey retirement, which took place at the AmericanAirlines Arena. — and shared some fond memories of his late friend, Kobe Bryant.

“Kobe said the most important thing is to try to inspire others so they can be great in whatever they try to do,” Wade said according to ESPN. “I hope I inspired you. Thank you for making me a part of your legacy. Please know you’re a huge part of mine.”

Wade continued, “The impact that the passing of Kobe has done on myself and so many others is it’s made us sit down and stop. Life goes so fast. We move at a rapid pace. It’s made me enjoy the moment more. It’s made me want to create more memories. It definitely put a lot of things in perspective. As athletes, we’re looked at as superheroes. We looked at Kobe as a superhero.”

Wade added, “That moment has touched all of us and will continue to. Kobe was leading the way — he retired and showed us in his next act after retirement that you can master that as well. He mastered basketball, he mastered being an amazing father, he mastered being a husband, he mastered being a creator. He was showing us the way and now we don’t have that. So I do have a responsibility to be that guy and show the way for the next generation.”

Watch the speech in full below.