“It’s Lonely”: Dwyane Wade Made a “Sacrifice” for LeBron James and 2x NBA Champion, Opens Up 11 Years After Claiming Second Heat Victory

Dwyane Wade was all about winning in his career. He led the Miami Heat to a championship just in his third year of the NBA and claimed the NBA Finals MVP title. This stamped him as one of the best players of the time. Then he ran out of help at the tail-end of the 2000s. This is when LeBron James joined the Heat alongside Chris Bosh. This meant that Wade, who had a ball-dominating style, had to give the keys to LBJ. This flexible approach of Flash led to championships in 2012 and 2013. 

To win, the Guard gave the primary duties to King James. Club Shay Shay’s host Shannon Sharpe asked him about his feelings after transferring the role.

Wade’s zeal to win 

Sharpe pointed out how Wade was running the Heat before James arrived. He acknowledged the difficulty of sharing a space with someone who is going to replace you as the “head of the table”. Observing Wade’s sacrifice, he asked “how and why” he was willing to this far, something that a “lot of guys can’t do“. To this Wade had a simple reply,” I wanted to win.” He continued, “To be in this breath and this conversation, you have to win championships, every generation is different.”.

Saying he didn’t have Curry’s range or a game like Damian Lillard, further adding, “To sign my name in heaven, I wanted my game to be an accumulation of it all. But it needs to be led by winning, for me. That wasn’t a facade, I always put myself in a position to do that.” He addressed Sharpe’s “head of the table” comments and revealed, “I don’t sit at the head of the table, I like to sit in the middle, I like to be amongst everybody, having a conversation. I don’t want to be at the head, it’s lonely at the head.”

You can also read: “You Don’t Have Nobody”: 4 Years After Hanging Up His Jersey, Dwyane Wade Offers Pearls of Wisdom to 10x All-Star

Wade underwent many changes after LeBron James arrived

Wade gave an engrossing parameter for defining greatness. He pointed out how he had shifted roles to attain greatness. He gave his own justification of why he considers himself one of the greatest of all time. The Heat legend says, “I didn’t do it in one way, I showed you how to be great in so many different ways and so many different times. My game changed and evolved so much. To me, that’s greatness as a basketball player.”

He remarked how he led the league in scoring, won a Finals MVP, and then changed his game style when Bosh and James arrived. We know LBJ for his ball-dominant style of play so Wade had to shift his style completely. Sharpe rightly highlights, “You learned to play off-the-ball.” To this Wade exclaimed, “You see the back cuts!”

After LBJ returned to the Cavaliers, Wade once again took the ball-handling duties and made Heat a strong team alongside Bost. But when Bosh developed blood clot issues, his will broke a little.

How do you see Wade’s legacy? Is he one of the greatest to ever do it? Do share in the comments below.

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