Saturday morning, Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum made an appearance on ESPN's Sportscaster to talk about Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. Despite Wade's advanced years—for an NBA player, anyway—he has carried the Heat through their series with the Toronto Raptors, averaging over 25 points per game. The two teams face off in Game 7 on Sunday to determine who will meet LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. McCollum's admiration for what Wade has done is clear in his deference.
When asked for his thoughts on Wade, McCollum didn't hold back in his praise.
Dwyane Wade is a very special player. Obviously, you look at his game; it's well-rounded. He's one of the rare guards in the NBA that play the 2-guard and still post up. He can play back-to-basket, he can manipulate pick-and-rolls, and he can create for others. So guarding him is a nightmare at times because he gets to that right hand, you know he's going all the way to the cup. He can go left, pump fake, hit you with the right-to-left crossover. He's got a very mixed arsenal. There's a reason why they call him ‘Father Prime.'
The anchor then asked McCollum particularly about Wade's game and how it has evolved over the years, specifically asking him if he thought Wade had "old man game" now. As has become McCollum's practice, again he didn't hold back.
I won't disrespect a legend and say he has ‘old man game.'
McCollum eventually half-concedes that Wade may have old man game, but only if that's meant in the finest and most complimentary manner, showing no disrepect to Wade.