Photo: Metelus Studios

It has been six years since Dwyane Wade officially announced his retirement, playing his last game with the Miami Heat. 

During Wade’s tenure with the Heat, he played alongside head coach Erik Spoelstra for a total of 10 seasons, and still cherishes their relationship until today.

In speaking of Wade’s visit to the Philippines on Tuesday, the Miami legend shared moments with the champion coach, who has Filipino-American roots.

“Shoutout to Spo. One thing Spo does, he keeps the main thing the main thing…he got his start in a video room…it was so cool to come to Miami and see a young Erik Spoelstra…he would only come to practice when he would work me out so he was my workout buddy and we built a bond from that…5 years later he was my head coach…he’s one of the greatest coaches,” Wade said.

The three-time champion tipped his off to his former head coach as they also won two straight championships in 2012 and 2013.

“You see Spo all the time, we were like ‘do you go home? Do you have a life outside of this?’…he was always in the arena…me and UD would do anything as leaders — to make sure Spo was protected…,” he added.

Although Heat president Pat Riley was the head tactician during his first title in 2006, he still bonded with Spoelstra as an assistant coach and director of scouting for the Heat,