Dwyane Wade got real about how he felt when LeBron James told him he was leaving the Miami Heat in 2014.
Dwyane Wade saw one of his best friends join his team so that they could win a championship together. That friend was LeBron James and the pair won two titles together along with Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013.
James would leave the duo behind after their loss in the 2014 Finals and rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers, something that frustrated Wade when he heard about it.
“Was there a part of me that’s a little pissed? Yes. I’m human. I don’t wanna lose the best player in the game. Why did we lose him? Now, I gotta figure out my future. I had given up my stardom and my place for you to step in and help lead us. Bron and I had a conversation about that moment before I went to Cleveland later about how I felt and how he felt. We talked about the moment and moved on from it.”
LeBron saw the writing on the wall after the Heat didn’t look dangerous in the 2013-14 season, especially with Wade’s piling injuries. James’ co-stars were regressing and LeBron used it as the perfect time to return to Cleveland and bring an NBA Championship to his hometown, which was also the team that drafted him.
Dwyane Wade Thought LeBron Would Never Go Back To Cleveland
James’ split from the Cavaliers in 2010 was extremely acrimonious. Fans were burning his jersey and Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert issued a letter to the public trashing James.
That was one of the most aggressive treatments of a departing player by an owner in league history and something that Wade thought would keep James from ever returning to the franchise.
“I never thought Cleveland was in play because I’m petty. If I’m going over how I was gonna do it, I’m not coming back to you! But at the same time man, LeBron has a journey and it’s bigger than a letter Dan Gilbert can put out… he’s been King James since he was 12 years old. He has had a vision of how he wants this to go. If you let all these individuals come in the way of your career, it becomes their vision… It wasn’t about Dan Gilbert or the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was about LeBron James and his family and how he sees his career going… To be at that level, you have to look above and he looked above and got what he needed for his career.”
Gilbert claimed in his letter that the Cavaliers would win a title before LeBron, a notion that is laughable now. The Cavs were among the worst teams in the league every year that LeBron was away, while James won two titles.
LeBron reconciled with Gilbert in 2014 and they united forces for the most famous championship win in Cleveland’s sports history in 2016.
Dwyane Wade’s Final Conversation With LeBron James As Teammates On The Heat
Wade may have been pissed but he had an honest conversation with LeBron a day before the announcement that he will return to the Cavaliers. Wade gave James his blessing at that moment, claiming people would win regardless of where he goes.
“I didn’t know he was thinking about it, we just had a four-year run. I didn’t think Cleveland was on the docket at all… When we went into free agency that summer, I thought we were going to come back… When I heard he was going back to Cleveland, I took it like I take everything else, on the chin… I told him a day before the trade was announced, ‘Hey man, listen. Everybody is going to win no matter what you do. If you stay here, we all win. If you go to Cleveland, Cleveland’s going to win. Ultimately, you’ve got to do what’s best for LeBron James… If you looking for a blessing from me, you have it, I’m not gonna hold you back.”
James leaving sent the Heat out of the contending picture until a certain Jimmy Butler joined the roster after Dwyane Wade’s 2019 retirement. Even though he’s made the Finals, they haven’t come close to the success they enjoyed in the ‘Big Three’ era.
