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Rasheed Amir Wade born to be a Piston

Namesake

by Ryan Pretzer
Clifford Wade and Latanya Bussell had an agreement about the naming of their first child. If Latanya had a boy, Clifford would name him; a girl, and Latanya would have the honor.

Clifford, a lifelong Detroiter who says he comes to five Pistons games a season on average, knew precisely which name he wanted to go with. And it definitely wasn’t Dwyane.

“Rasheed is my favorite [Piston] and I also wanted as the middle name somebody off the bench so I chose Amir Johnson,” said Clifford, who named his son Rasheed Amir Wade.

Coincidentally, Clifford’s son has the same initials as Rasheed Abdul Wallace - and that’s where the similarities end for now. Fortunately for Clifford and Latanya, the four-month-old hasn’t exhibited any technical foul-worthy tantrums just yet. “He’s a great baby, nice, handsome little boy,” the proud papa gushed. “He’s very good. I just love him.”

Rasheed Amir Wade was born the morning of April 27, 2008. That night, the Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of their first-round series. The 93-84 victory sparked a five-game winning streak and signaled the end of the Sixers’ season. Wallace had one of his best performances of the playoffs, 20 points and 10 rebounds.

“Hopefully that can rub off on my mine and we can be watching him in the future, because I do want him to be one,” Clifford said. “Not just a basketball player but a Piston.”