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LeBron James is making a run for the NBA title this year with the LA Lakers. Despite this being his 17th season in the NBA, LeBron James is gunning for his fourth title as if it is his first. LeBron James' former teammate Dwyane Wade surely knows a thing or two about him. Wade won two titles with the Lakers talisman during their time in Miami.
Dwyane Wade appeared on the latest episode of JJ Redick's podcast 'The Old Man and the Three" to speak about LeBron James' greatness and the hate he received during their time together in Miami. Wade also spoke about his relationship with LA Lakers great Kobe Bryant and how he was inspired by his idol Kobe to keep striving for excellence.
LeBron James' decision to leave Cleveland brought him a lot of hate
Back in 2010, during free agency, LeBron James decided to take his talents to South Beach and team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. This trio, which came to be known as the 'Heatles', eventually won two NBA titles.
Also Read: What is Dwyane Wade's net worth now?
But before the success came a period where LeBron James was the most hated player in the league. Wade spoke about the hate LeBron had to face and said:
“The basketball fan base had an idea of how LeBron’s career was supposed to go. And it was supposed to go like Michael Jordan’s career. Stay in Cleveland his entire time and win six to seven rings. He had other ideas for his career and people, at that time, didn’t understand why would he do that. They looked at it as a weak move that he goes team up with another All-Star and another All-Star.”
According to Dwyane Wade, some of the hate was also due to free agency moves not being popular back then in the league.
“At that time it wasn’t used to players having control, organizations made trades. Free agency before that was not really sexy.
The league has changed significantly since then, and LA Lakers superstar LeBron James played a major role in this paradigm shift with his move to Miami back in 2010.
Dwayne Wade speaks about the relationship he had with LA Lakers' legend Kobe Bryant
During his conversation with JJ Redick, Wade also spoke fondly about LA Lakers' great Kobe Bryant. Wade and Kobe had a very close relationship, and the former actually considered Kobe as his older brother.
Wade spoke about how Kobe helped him during the 2008 Olympics run, giving him advice and support and motivating him to keep working hard despite not being selected as a starter. This was the start of their close friendship that lasted through the course of their careers and continued even after retirement.
After the untimely and unfortunate demise of Kobe Bryant earlier this year, Wade was among many NBA players who were left distraught. Wade rued the fact that he and Bryant won't ever get a chance to sit alongside each other again during a LA Lakers vs Miami Heat clash, with both of them rooting for their respective sides from the sidelines.
Guess the Lakers players!
