Best Friends Forever Linked In NBA Lure
Dwyane Wade has not fully processed that this is his last season in the NBA, opting to live in the moment as his career winds down.
But the final matchup against one of his top foes and former teammate LeBron James on Monday night wasn’t going to be swept under the rug, admitting as much that this game was gonna be “a little extra special.”
“I’m not gonna sit here and tell you, oh it’s just another one of 82, no it’s not for me. It’s a game where I get to play against not only one of my best friends but one of the game’s greatest players for the last time.”
Like the two have on many occasions, each shared the floor with each other in the final minutes of a game hanging in the balance. After Dwyane Wade’s Heat took a 96-90 lead with 7:18 in the fourth quarter, it was his close pal taking over the game.
LeBron James scored eight of Los Angeles’ next 11 points to put Los Angeles out front, only to see his competitive former teammate score and assist on two consecutive possessions to tie the game at 103-103 with 2:53 remaining.
With the Lakers holding a uncomfortable one-point edge, Miami’s defense came up with several stops with a chance to take the lead in the final 90 seconds. Wade, catching the ball underneath the rim on the pass that got to him late, drifted away along the right baseline before taking a degree of difficulty turnaround jumper, that even at his age, he feels confident in making.
In the next sequence, James and Wade would have their first one-on-one encounter of the game that brought the Staples Center crowd out of their seats as Wade eagerly jumped on James’ hip looking to lockdown his buddy down, only to be picked off with a screen from one of James’ new teammates, and James going on to attempt a fadeaway jumper near the top of the key that fell short.
The second would occur with the Lakers up 108-105 with time winding down in fourth quarter and Wade with the ball in his hands vs. James.
After being well-defended on the play, Wade used a turnaround to create room for a look at a 3-pointer, only to see the shot miss well off the rim.
After seeing Justise Winslow’s last ditch 3-point try for the Miami Heat fail to go in, the two men playfully mixed it up after the game’s final horn before hugging and embracing each other. They would soon, with a number of cameras surrounding them, exchange jerseys with one another in a classic screenshoot of both holding each other’s jerseys for the cameras in their hands.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers 108-105 victory, James reflected on his final battle with his soon to be retired teammate.
“Like I been saying all week, it’s bittersweet, man,” James said, who was standing side-by-side with his best friend following the game. “Every possession you was just like…the next one is getting closer and closer to the last one.
“So a lot of emotions going on for me right now just knowing I’m losing a brother in this game that I had so many wars with, so many wars with each other together and separate. It’s no better way than to end it in Staples Center. This is my guy man.”
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had battled to a standstill of 15-15 against each other in 30 head-to-head matchups coming into tonight, with James coming out on top now in a series of battles best defined by each’s competitive spirit and individual brilliance as players.
Wade spent four seasons in Miami with James, as the two helped lead Miami to four NBA Finals appearances that culminated in two NBA world titles. Wade signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season for one last hurrah with his former teammate, only to be traded at the NBA trade deadline earlier this year to the place where his jersey will one day be hanging in the rafters.
When it was time for Wade to share his thoughts after their memorable final duel, Wade caught himself of getting emotional about the moment.
“This is what you play for. Playing against one of the greatest players ever,” Wade said after the game. “Whether we were teammates or whether we were opponents, we brought the best out of each other and I’m just thankful that I had the opportunity to be able to be drafted at the same time as this guy.
“And the friendship that we have, you guys know that’s beyond basketball. But I’m gonna miss this. I’m gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss this s*** out of this man.”
Wade and James exchanged trash talk as James attempted and made two free throws that would put Los Angeles up 108-105 with 22.5 seconds left in the game, as Wade tried to get into the head of James.
After going scoreless in the first half, Wade picked it up in the second half for the Miami Heat off the bench, scoring 15 second-half points. He also finished the game with 10 assists and five rebounds in 32 minutes.
His counterpart, James, scored 28 points while adding 12 rebounds and nine assists as he continued to power Los Angeles, who is now 17-10 and rising in the Western Conference standings.
They both came into the league together, and while the 2018-19 season is Dwyane Wade’s swan song, the two will forever be linked to each other in a number of ways.
Dwyane Wade guided Miami to their first NBA championship in his third NBA season at age 24. His earlier Heat teams were contenders, with him leading the charge in the Eastern Conference, all before the emergence of LeBron James’ Cavaliers teams and the creation of the Boston Celtics “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in the East.
James had said earlier in his career that at some point he wanted to play on a team with Wade, and after both were bounced from the postseason by Boston, the two finally did join forces, along with another 03′ draft class star in Chris Bosh.
The formation of the Miami Heat in the summer of 2011 changed the NBA, as it led to future superstars willing to take pay cuts to build or form super teams. For better or worse is for those who want to debate it.
“It’s bitter and sweet,” James told the media ahead of the game. “It’s sweet and sour. The sweet part about it is I’ve always being on the same floor with my brother. We struck up a relationship together at a combine in 2003, and it started from there. And the sour part about it is that this is our last time sharing the same court.”
That day at the 2003 combine led to a unbreakable bond forming between the two men, who’s friendship goes as deep as being blood brothers.
The two future Hall of Famers were a dynamic pairing when wearing the same uniforms, even with Wade dealing with injuries for much of the final two years of their run together.
In battle together or against one another, the high respect each holds for one another and brotherhood they shared has been the same no matter.
“This is one of the greatest players to ever play in this game,” James said after the game. “And just a privilege he is to enter the league with me, it’s beyond mutual. We gon’ miss flash, man. We gon’ miss him in this league for sure.”
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