Dwyane Wade: Doctor Told Heat I Only Had 5 Years During the Draft Process

Three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade was once told his career would be short-lived. The legendary basketball player recently shared how he managed to build an exceptional career despite undergoing knee surgery.

"When I was 19 and in the hospital, the doctor told me they'd have to remove my meniscus and that I'd develop arthritis and all sorts of issues down the line," the former Miami Heat guard recalled.

"Did I understand what that meant back then? I just wanted to get back on the court! I needed to earn money for my family. I didn't even know what a meniscus was. It was a different time, a different era. All I knew was that my knee was injured. They kept repeating that word, 'meniscus.' They gave me some information, and I just reacted: 'Okay, so it needs to be removed?'"

Technology was different then, and so was everything else. So, even I don't know how I managed to build such a career. Later, during my basketball journey, our team doctor admitted to me: 'We only gave you five years.'

When you go through the draft process, you undergo a battery of tests, examinations, analyses, and X-rays. That's when the doctor told the Heat that I only had five years before knee problems would start.

And he wasn't wrong. I truly had about five good years, and then the knee started to give out. After that, I underwent several surgeries for clean-ups and other procedures.

I can say I have an incredible tolerance for pain. I have a high pain threshold. I've played through injuries that many guys certainly wouldn't have. Throughout my career, I endured a lot of discomfort. But I learned to remain effective, even knowing there were some things I couldn't do.

That's why I always say: 'You don't see how the brain works.' Maybe I wasn't a genius in school, but when it came to basketball, my mind had its own version of genius. That's how I learned to win, remembering that I didn't have a meniscus.

But for the first few years, I didn't even think it would become a problem because I was still incredibly explosive. I thought, 'What meniscus? What are you even talking about?' I felt like the best rookie of the year," Wade recounted.