Dwyane Wade reveals why he wanted to play with LeBron James

In the 2009 and 2010 NBA finals, the Los Angeles Lakers won back-to-back championships. While their roster wasn't completely packed with stars, it did feature several important pieces that worked well together. They had two very solid wing players in Metta World Peace and Lamar Odom, who brought grit, defence, and veteran leadership to their team. Their starting centre, Andrew Bynum, contributed with rebounding and rim protection. Pau Gasol served as the secondary scorer on the team and also provided rebounding and rim protection. Finally, Kobe Bryant provided the scoring firepower they needed and led the team in assists.

With these two NBA Championships, Kobe Bryant's total reached 5. However, this achievement didn't sit well with some players. Bleacher Report recently revealed that following Kobe's fifth NBA title, Dwyane Wade immediately called LeBron James to recruit him to the Miami Heat. He was quoted as saying to him:


It's clear that Dwyane Wade was tapping into both of their competitive spirits. Despite LeBron having already won 2 MVPs, he still lacked NBA titles to pair with them. As for Dwyane Wade, he had already secured his first NBA championship with Shaquille O'Neal back in 2006. However, he most likely aimed to catch up to Kobe and enhance his standing in the debate over the greatest shooting guards of all time.


Following the 2009-2010 season, Dwyane Wade re-signed with the Miami Heat and successfully recruited both Chris Bosh and LeBron James to join the team. LeBron James's move to the Miami Heat was a highly televised event, famously nicknamed The Decision. This is widely regarded as one of the very first super teams in the NBA, with the other notable super team at the time being the Boston Celtics' roster featuring Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett.

LeBron assumed the role of the primary scorer on the Miami Heat and went on to win 2 more MVP awards. Dwyane Wade remained a consistent 20+ points per game scorer and made significant contributions on defence. Chris Bosh's role underwent the most significant change after the move; however, he played a crucial role in rebounding, rim protection, and contributing to the offence.

"The Big Three" played together for four seasons, spanning from 2010 to 2014. During their relatively brief time together, they made it to the NBA Finals in each of those seasons and secured 2 NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. This underscores yet another reason to appreciate Kobe Bryant for his influence in pushing these players to reach their full potential.

Credits:
Bleacher Report