SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — In a Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony that included a few connections to the Chicagoland area, a native of the city provided one of its most memorable moments.

Dwyane Wade, who was born in Chicago, grew up in Robbins, and played at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, was one of 12 members of the Class of 2023 enshrined on Saturday at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

East Chicago native and Merrillville High School graduate Gregg Popovich along with former Bulls’ forward Pau Gasol also took their place in the Hall of Fame this weekend.

Wade, who was a 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion during his 16 seasons that included one with the Bulls, saluted a number of people in his life during his speech that went for about 26 minutes. That included his mother, Jolinda, and then eventually his father, Dwyane Wade Sr.

It was he that Wade saved special words to end his speech in front of fellow Hall of Famers and peers.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude that I’ll never be able to repay,” said Wade to his father, who was standing up in the crowd. “When I would cry and say I can’t, you made me go harder. You pushed me to limits that I didn’t know were inside of me. The hard work I put in was because I didn’t want to let you down.

“Those countless hours in the backyard, where we would compete against each other like strangers, it built me to last. Those days that turned into late nights of me working on my left hand so it was just as good as my right, it made me an unstoppable force.”

Wade would then go on to discuss how his father once was kicked out of a game he was playing in, but snuck back in to coach him from the stands, and was promptly kicked out again. He said that his father’s commitment to his dreams is the same he tries to show his own children today after his retirement from basketball in 2019.

“Even though I hated being called ‘Little Dwyane,’ I admired you as a kid. I admire you now,” said Wade of his father.

Dwyane then asked his father to join him on stage, so they could “take our rightful step into basketball heaven”

As Dwyane Sr. made his way up to the stage, Dwyane Jr. put his arm around his father and continued his tribute.

“This one is for my father. I love you, and I’m thankful for you,” said Dwyane Jr.

“I love you too, man,” said Dwyane Sr.

“We’re in the Hall of Fame, dawg!,” is how Dwyane Jr. ended the speech with a long embrace with his father on stage, creating a memorable moment in a night of history in Springfield.