"That Golden State team was right on our heels" – Dwyane Wade talks about the emergence of the Golden State Warriors as the 'Big 3' era of the Miami Heat was coming to an end
LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 to form a super team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. In the four years they played together, they reached the NBA Finals every year but ended up winning only two championships.
In the 2014 offseason, LeBron James chose to return to Cleveland and promised to bring a championship to the city. He delivered on his promise, but many still wonder what would have been if he had stayed in South Beach and had another run with Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade does not think they would have had much success if LeBron James had stayed with the franchise. Speaking with former NBA player Jalen Rose on "The Renaissance Man" podcast, Wade explained why he thought it would have been difficult to win more championships, especially with him not being in his prime.
“I don’t know. I don’t know," Wade said. "That Golden State team was right on our heels. I really don’t know. I wasn’t in my prime anymore. I was outside of my prime about 2014. So that would have made it hard for us to really win if I was still going to be a big part of it. Chris Bosh not knowing what he was going to be dealing with later, he was in his prime, and LeBron was in his, but I wasn’t in mine anymore.
“And it would have made it tough to keep going, so I would have really had to find health in a big way very quickly to keep competing at that level and because my body was going through so much.”
"I felt like it ended when it should have, Jalen. I felt like we had an amazing run, we had an amazing college experience, and I feel like that four years was all we needed, and we accomplished, you know, obviously what we accomplished. I think it was enough."
Although LeBron James delivered two championships for the franchise, Dwyane Wade already partnered with Shaquille O'Neal to give the franchise its first championship in 2006. Two in four was the mark for the Miami Heat's Big 3, as Wade maintains that the chances for third, fourth and fifth titles were ridiculously slim.
Wade played for five more seasons after LeBron's departure but never made it past the conference semifinals.
Can LeBron James win at least one more championship before he retires?
LeBron James has expressed his desire to play with his son, Bronny, in the NBA, and that will not be happening until at least the 2024-25 season. That means LeBron has at least two more seasons to push for a fifth championship at least.
The LA Lakers have taken a unique approach to winning a championship this season, assembling veteran role players to join the 36-year-old LeBron James. While experience plays a major role in a championship race, they run the risk of getting outworked on the floor.
LeBron James tonight:
34 Points
7 Rebounds
2 Assists
2 Steals
68% FG https://t.co/RFvoU3Gr0C
So far this season, the Lakers have found it difficult to contain teams and are ranked 27th in opposition points per game. Outside of LeBron James, no one is really producing at a high clip, not even the younger guys.
Anthony Davis has been a shadow of himself, as he has been accused severely of losing interest in the game after winning a championship. He is not playing with the kind of aggressiveness needed to win games, leaving much of the heavy lifting to the soon-to-be 37-year-old LeBron James.
Regardless of the recent poor performance of the Lakers team, it would be unwise to write off LeBron James. Given how he is playing at this age, he could lead the team to another championship if they steady the ship early enough to get into the playoffs.