For most of you reading this right now, the entirety of your basketball watching life has been filled with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade moments.
Both drafted in the 2003 NFL Draft — LeBron went first to Cleveland, while Wade when fifth to Miami — D-Wade & King James have largely shaped the NBA as we know it: both as it has existed for the last decade and where it will go from here.
While people will usually point to the 2008 Celtics — made up of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen — as the first “superteam” in the NBA, the truth is that the first “superteam” as we know them was created by Wade, LeBron, and Chris Bosh, as the decision to unite in South Beach was there’s and there’s alone.
But, as time does, it moves forward, so gone are the days of The Big 3, replaced by the end of D-Wade’s illustrious career.
And because it’s Wade’s final season, that means it also marks the last time he’ll share a professional court with his brother LeBron, which is exactly what happened on Monday night in Los Angeles when Wade’s Heat visited the Staples Center.
via Dime Mag:
The two great friends and former teammates dueled down the stretch, as any good script writer would’ve insisted, but the play wasn’t exactly crisp. A closing sequence included a missed LeBron fadeaway midrange jumper, followed by a missed Wade corner three.
On the Heat’s final possession, they turned to Wade, who was unable to shake James at the top of the key and ended up throwing up a wild three pointer off the glass that was nowhere close to going in, and Justise Winslow’s last gasp effort came up empty. LeBron corralled the rebound and immediately was hugged by Wade, as they shared a moment on the court after the game.
After the game, the two living legends two exchanged jerseys, prompting Wade to proclaim that he will “miss the sh*t out of this.”
We’ll miss the sh*t out of you too, D-Wade.