Dwyane Wade played five games on his birthday. His performances were rather surprising

Dwyane Wade has brought Heat fans a lot of joy during the past two decades.

The three rings aside, his hustle, work ethic and sacrifice have come to define the Heat franchise and are part of why Miami will forever love him.

With Wade turning 38 Friday, the Herald scoured his game logs to see how Father Prime fared on his birthday. The findings were rather surprising.

Let’s get a few things straight before diving into the numbers. Wade is the greatest player in Heat franchise history, one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game and future Hall of Famer. Those are undeniable truths.

Want to know another fact?

Wade’s five performances on Jan. 17 can be summed up in one word: subpar. It’s true. Again, this is not an indictment on Father Prime in the slightest. Everybody has bad games; his just happened to come on his birthday.

Of course there were times he played well — hanging 29 on the Rockets in 2009, putting up 27 on the Lakers in 2013 — but his birthday games usually didn’t go as planned.

Take the Rockets game, for example. In addition to scoring 29, Wade also dished out nine dimes. That’s a pretty impressive. Most NBA players would kill for that stat line.

There was just one problem: the Heat lost.

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In fact, Wade actually has losing record (2-3) on his birthday. His wins came against the Lakers in 2013 and 76ers in 2014 while the Rockets, Thunder and Mavericks handed him Ls in 2009, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

His per game numbers (roughly 20 points, three rebounds and four assists) during those five outings weren’t much better, falling slightly below his career averages.

Don’t worry Heat fans. Wade actually has a .500 birthday record in your jersey since one of his losses did occur with the Bulls.

Despite his lackluster showings on his birthday, Wade’s resume is set in stone. He’s still a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s still one of the game’s greatest ambassadors. And, arguably the best part, he’s still providing a great example for black fathers across the globe.

Wade’s birthday Ls, frankly, are a mystery. Maybe they were the basketball gods’ way of keeping him humble, seeing as how he already owns Christmas. Or maybe they were just a coincidence.

Whatever the reason, Wade certainly seems happy he doesn’t have to suit up tonight.