In the late 2000s, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers were on top of the NBA. Having won two championships in a row with the addition of Pau Gasol to the team, the Lakers were on the verge of a second three-peat. Among the millions that were witnessing this epic run by the Lakers, one athlete who was not having a good time seeing all this was Dwyane Wade.
Dwyane Wade won his first championship in 2006. But for the next three years, he was not able to get to the promised land again. This made him want to change things, and seeing Kobe Bryant celebrate his fifth championship win was just the trigger Wade needed to make the move.
Kobe Bryant made Dwyane Wade act
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In an episode of The Skweek Show by Tony Parker, former NBA players like Dwyane Wade, Jay Williams, Pau Gasol, and Dirk Nowitzki joined him to share different stories from their time in the NBA. Dwyane Wade revealed how seeing Kobe Bryant lift the trophy changed NBA history.
In 2009, Dwyane Wade was sitting at home during the NBA finals. As soon as the Lakers won the match, he saw Kobe running, grabbing the ball, and celebrating. Dwyane Wade was fed up with seeing Kobe win every time while the Miami Heat were struggling.
This made him instantly turn off the television, call LeBron James, and ask about his plans for the future. LeBron hadn’t signed an extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that made him a free agent in the 2009 offseason. Shockingly, he decided to sign with the Miami Heat along with Chris Bosh, who was also a free agent that summer.
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This led to the creation of the ‘Big Three’ of the Miami Heat. As fans were burning LeBron’s jersey in Ohio, a celebration began in Miami even before the season commenced. Having put together a team of some of the best players in the league, the only goal for the team was to win a championship.
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The Big Three did not fulfill all their goals
Yes, the team did win two championships. But with the players that they had, even two was a disappointment at the time. Even LeBron himself talked about his hopes for the team in a team introduction and said that he wants to win seven championships with the team. But things did not go completely as planned.
In the first year, they lost to Dirk Nowitzki in the finals. The Heat won the next two years back to back. But as they were on their way to a three-peat like Kobe, they were stopped by the San Antonio Spurs. The fans got to experience some of the best basketball from world-class athletes, giving everyone a feel of what it is like when players decide to team up and win.
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People first saw the creation of a superteam a few years prior with the Boston Celtics, but it was the Miami Heat that made everyone change their approach to team building. This changed the entire landscape of the NBA in the next decade. All this started because Dwyane Wade was unhappy to see Kobe Bryant celebrating his fifth championship.