LOS ANGELES – Back in 2010, LeBron James shocked the world by joining forces with two other proven star players in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The star trio for the Miami Heat was thought to be enough to potentially dominate the NBA for the better part of a decade, but it only lasted four years. After reaching the NBA Finals four years in a row and winning twice, LeBron headed back to the Cleveland Cavaliers to win one more, and now he's the star attraction for the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Monday, James went head-to-head with Wade for the last time. The two superstars went toe-to-toe at the Staples Center in Wade's final appearance at the iconic arena to face his close friend. The matchup was as advertised with both players having brilliant performances in a game that came down to the wire and went as anticipated with LeBron walking away with the win for the Lakers.
Following the Lakers coming out on top against Wade and company, LeBron talked about what Wade has meant to his basketball career. James believes he needed the future Hall of Famer to take his game to a championship level.
“I think me personally, I would have been very successful in this league without D-Wade,” LeBron said. “But to accomplish what I really wanted to accomplish in this league, and that’s winning at the highest level, I needed him. And that’s when I made the jump, and I appreciate more than I can express in words what he did for me when I went down to Miami. You have to think about how I spent the first 25 years of my life in Akron, Ohio. I spent 18 years going through high school, and then my first seven years of my professional career I was still living in Akron, Ohio, so that’s all I knew.
“For me to move down to a place that was foreign to me and my family and for him to open up that franchise and that city for me and my family and make it so seamless. When he’s been there, he’s been a staple; it’s WadeCounty. What we accomplished, I give so much to him, and it just shows what kind of guy he is. I knew that when we met at pre-draft in 2003. I knew it. But sometimes you just need to see it again, and he showed it again, and I never had to question that. He’s a stand-up guy.”
Clearly, Wade has played a pivotal role in LeBron's career. The two NBA icons are very close friends with nothing but praise for one another. That was on display on Monday night more than ever as the respect extends to off the floor as much if not more than on it.
Although LeBron is still going strong, Wade has decided to call it a career after this season with the Los Angeles and LeBron chapter now closed as the three-time NBA champion presses on to hopefully finish his storied career on a high note with the team that he began his journey with back in 2003.
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