There have been some legendary duos in the NBA. However, there aren’t many who were as exciting to watch as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The Miami Heat duo made highlights every night by either throwing lobs or with flashy dunks. They even won back-to-back championships together before James decided to return to Cleveland. But, their one mistake may have cost them a chance at another title.
LeBron James was struggling to win a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Being the sole performer on most occasions, he didn’t have great pieces around him. Thus, he took the opportunity in free agency and teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a ‘Big 3’ in Miami. While many expected them to win every year, their first final didn’t translate well.
The Heat faced off against a strong willed Dallas Mavericks team led by Dirk Nowitzki. While the Heat were surely the favorites, Wade and James’s one mistake may have cost them a three peat. Recently, Dwyane Wade spoke about what happened and how they dealt with the loss.
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Dwyane Wade explains him and LeBron James mocking Dirk
In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki suffered from the flu right before game 4 of the NBA finals. When Wade and LeBron got the news, instead of sympathizing, they mocked him in front of the media. This clip went viral, and the Mavericks used it before every game to motivate Drik. But, in Game 4 alone, he made them pay after taking over in the 4th quarter to snatch a win.
In a recent interview, Wade spoke about his actions and said that it was nothing personal towards Dirk. He said that the media was trying to make up stories at the moment and it just came out. Wade further spoke and said that he would probably not do something like that again.
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Wade said: “I don’t even like looking at the clip. I would tell my son not to do something like that. It wasn’t anything personal [toward Nowitzki]; it was just in the moment of the media trying to come up with stories. Kind of making fun of it, “Okay, he’s sick, all right; what other excuse are you going to give him?” It became a big thing. Do you mean to do something like that in the moment? Probably not, but you did it. You take it on the chin and move on.”
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The 2011 finals affected LeBron’s legacy big time. Not only did they lose the finals, but LeBron James had one of his worst showings, and analysts went at him. The Heat bounced back to win back-to-back titles while LeBron redeemed himself by winning two Finals MVPs. Do you think Heta would have won if Wade and James didn’t mock Dirk?