Former Asst. Coach of the Miami Heat Reveals Dwayne Wade’s Big Sacrifice for LeBron James

The NBA, at the beginning of the 2010s decade, saw a team from the south dominating the league. A fully reinforced Miami Heat threatened to form a dominating dynasty through the signing of Chris Bosh and LeBron James to support Dwyane Wade, who re-signed a multi-million dollar contract, hoping to win a few more championships in his career. 

The star-studded Heat team overcame every criticism to reach the NBA finals in the first year since revamping. But LeBron and the team fell at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, who simply outplayed their opponents to win their maiden championship in franchise history. 

LeBron James averaged 23.7 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Heat in the 2011 playoffs. When LeBron landed in Miami, he tagged alongside Dwyane Wade, who had been the cornerstone of the team for several years before Bron’s arrival.

So was there a clash between King James and D-Wade? How did they decide if Wade would continue to be the main player of the franchise or give LeBron the complete control of the team, owing to the expectations that fans had on him? 

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade began their bromance after a hard loss to the Mavericks

David Fizdale might have had a short-lived career as the head coach of the New York Knicks. But the 46-year-old has plenty of experience in the league. He won back-to-back NBA titles as an assistant coach of the Miami Heat during their championship runs.

Fizdale recently connected with ex-NBA players Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson on the ‘Knuckleheads’ podcast. The former Heat assistant coach explained how their finals loss against the Mavs in 2011 helped Wade and LeBron clear the air and begin a dominating partnership in the league. 

“D-Wade came to me before practice one day and was like, ‘Listen, I’m gonna tell this dude [LeBron] that it’s his team, because he obviously doesn’t see that it is his. And so I think he needs to hear it from me, cause I think he’s giving me too much respect.’

“He’s like, ‘This dude’s the best player in the world. He’s got to..this is his now,’” Fizdale said, recalling his conversation with Wade. “And so I said, ‘Hey, lay it on him. I think it’ll help him.’”

D-Wade casually transferred complete control of the team to LeBron

Fizdale then revealed how calmly Dwyane Wade handled the situation with LeBron. Here’s the rest of the story on how D-Wade gave LeBron full permission to lead the team, by stepping back and fighting for the team’s goal. 

“Bron comes into the gym, we’re shooting free throws and it’s just us three in the gym,” Fizdale added. “D-Wade kinda looks at me and LeBron shoots and holds the ball and he [Wade] goes, ‘Man. This is yours.’ Bron kind looked at him like…He didn’t know what he [Wade] was talkin about at first.

“He [Wade] was like, ‘Bron this is your team.’ He was like, ‘I’m here to help you now.’“

Wade certainly stepped out and broke his silence over the matter. But he brilliantly toned down the scene with his witty sense of humor, according to David Fizdale. 

However, Wade’s strong words helped LeBron take complete control and unleash himself on the court. “‘But at the end of the day, for the rest of the time we’re here together, this is your team and I’m gonna follow you and I’m gonna support you,’” Wade told LeBron, as per Fizdale. 

“D was much more about winning than personal stuff,” Fizdale praised. “Just by him doin’ those little acts that no one really got to see, but we got to witness it on a daily basis. It would’ve never worked if he didn’t take that step back.”