"I had to light fire under him" - Dwyane Wade explains hollering at LeBron James during 2011 NBA Finals
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James took the NBA by storm when James famously joined the Miami Heat for the 2010-11 NBA season. The move was seen as shocking at the time, with many questioning whether it was fair for James, Wade, and Chris Bosh to form such a dominant big three.
Despite that, in the team's first season together, they struggled. There were questions about James' ability to be clutch and hit shots from the charity stripe, although they managed to make it to the NBA Finals their first year together. There, they clashed with Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, who seemed to be on a collision course with destiny.
During a recent appearance on the "Point Forward Podcast," Dwyane Wade opened up on a heated exchange he had with LeBron James during the series. As he explained, he yelled at James, pleading with him to rise to the occasion:
“I knew our relationship. I knew I could talk to Bron, because he could talk to me the same way. We ain’t sensitive. […] In that moment in Dallas it was coming down to me and him, and I didn’t feel like he was playing to the level he needed to for us to win."
How Dwyane Wade set LeBron James up for the future of the Miami Heat big three
As Wade went on to explain, the intense conversation he had with James wasn't necessarily just regarding the 2011 Finals against the Mavericks. Sensing that the trio were going to make it to the Finals again in the future, Wade wanted James to rise to the occasion going forward.
Wade, of course, was right. The following season they made it to the NBA Finals once again, with James improving on his efficiency from the floor. The year after that, they repeated as NBA champs, with James again taking his play to the next level.
Although Wade couldn't have known exactly what the future held when he inspired James to take his game to the next level, he knew he had to do something. As he explained:
“That moment may not have been for that finals, but the next finals, and the next finals, and the next finals.”
Although the podcast episode didn't include clips of James speaking about the back-and-forth with Dwyane Wade in the finals, his play indicates the message stuck. In the years since James and the Miami Heat won back-to-back titles, he has continued to be a leader both on and off the court.
Between his box score stat lines and the impact he has on winning, it's safe to say he picked up a thing or two from Dwyane Wade.