Mark Cuban’s Mavs have met up with Dwyane Wade’s Heat in the Finals twice since he’s been an owner and is 1-1. Because of the dominant performance in 2006 by Wade in the Finals (and perhaps other reasons as well), Cuban was not fond of Wade. But eight years removed from that first showdown in June, Cuban has gotten over all of it. It’s worth noting that Wade probably couldn’t care less about Cuban’s feelings towards him.
“Not anymore,” Cuban said when asked if he dislikes Wade. “At the beginning, I did because I think he thought he was entitled to everything that happened in that (2006) series. But it’s been eight years. I mean, I take a little bit of joy in games where he doesn’t go to the free throw line. But I like D-Wade now. He’s a guy who does a lot of good things off the court and I have to respect that.
“But if you’d have asked me eight years ago, it would have been a different answer….
“I give him credit off the court,” he said. “He’s gone from flash to being a good representative of the NBA. I respect that. He seems to be more about family and community. He went through some off-the-court hardships, I guess. But yeah, I have a lot of respect for him now. I think he and LeBron helped each other grow up. I don’t hold a lot of animosity at all.”
H/T: Dallas Morning News
