Not only are they best friends, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have experienced a successful and special bond within basketball as well. Wade saw firsthand the greatness and domination of one of the game’s greatest ever players when the pair made four consecutive NBA Finals and won two championship rings together in Miami.
Wade moved to his hometown Chicago this past summer, and as his Bulls defeated the depleted Cavs at the Q Wednesday, Wade discussed the historical run James and the Cavs had last campaign en route to lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Wade and James were one of the most devastating duos in NBA history, and despite all the highlight plays and successful championship runs, Wade told ESPN he believes James’ career defining moment came last season, as the Cavs made NBA history as the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA finals.
“That was special,” Wade said on Wednesday, before the Bulls’ 106-94 win over the Cavs. “That was incredible. We’ve seen a lot, we haven’t seen, obviously, teams come back from [being down] 3-1 in playoffs that much but especially in the Finals. And not having home-court advantage, that was really special what those guys were able to do, obviously led by Bron. I think for his career, that moment right there really put him where he probably wanted to be. Where everybody thought he was going to be one day when he was deemed as ‘The Chosen One.’ It was a defining moment for his career forever. So it was special.”
Despite James and Wade taking different paths in their careers after the success in South Beach, Wade went on to discuss how their relationship has blossomed over the years.
“It just evolved 14 years ago as rookies and [we] just developed a brotherhood,” Wade said of his relationship with James. “But when it comes to sacrificing, you sacrifice for the greater good of the reason we play a team sport. Once you’re young and you get all the recognition and you get paid — you want to win championships. And I think I sacrificed to win championships. I don’t look at that as a sacrifice when it comes to minutes, numbers. publicity, all that, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the goal was to win championships, and we were able to win two together and play in four [Finals]. That’s what you play the game for, and I’m happy about that.”
There is no doubt James’ NBA Finals performance last June was arguably the best in NBA history, as he lead both teams in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks, the first time a player has led both teams in all five major statistical categories in any playoff series.
It will long live in the memory of every Cavalier and NBA fans memory, and remains the greatest accomplishment in James’ career thus far.
