Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade
It’s never easy to see a friend ride off in the sunset and call it a career, but that’s what Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is set to do following this season. And ahead of Monday’s game, which will likely be the final time Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James squares off with his close friend, he had a message.
LeBron opted to channel Will Smith and Martin Lawrence from the movie Bad Boys to show his appreciation of Wade (per CBC Athletes).
The close relationship between James and Wade is well documented, and it goes back even before the start of the “Big Three” with the Heat. While the duo shared the floor in Miami from 2010-11 to 2013-14, they also teamed up again for a portion of the 2017-18 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron and Wade’s Impressive Run Together
Of the four seasons the two future Hall-of-Famers shared in Miami, they made it to the NBA Finals in each season while winning the title twice. Those two victories came in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, with the Heat winning 66 games in the latter year. They also managed to post a winning percentage of 69.7 or more in three of the four years also.
With Wade set to retire at the end of the year, the friends may not meet on the court anymore, but there’s no question they’ll remain close off it and spend plenty of time together. After all, the friendship of LeBron and Wade is arguably one of the most well-documented in the entire NBA, and it was a huge reason why the “Big Three” even started.
Who knows, we may even have to credit all superteams in the NBA to these two All-Stars, along with Chris Bosh.
Dwyane Wade’s Impressive Career
The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to Wade, whose career features more than 1,000 games played and all but 106 coming with the Heat. Among his impressive performances, the former No. 5 pick was named to the All-NBA First Team twice (2009, 2010). Wade was also named to the All-NBA Second Team and Third Team six total times while making the All-Star game 12 times in a row.
Although Wade had a number of stellar seasons in his career, the 2008-09 season stands out among the rest. He posted averages of 30.2 points, 7.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game that year. And while he attempted 22 shots per game, Wade still managed to shoot 49.1 percent from the field.
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