Just in case you needed another reminder that the relationship between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is bigger than basketball, here it comes.
Prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ loss at the hands of the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, James told ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin that he hasn’t lost touch with Wade in the slightest since what went down at the trade deadline:
“I mean, I hated to see him go,” James told ESPN, adding that he has been in constant communication with Wade since the NBA draft combine in Chicago back in 2003. “I still do. I still do. So my emotions was mixed because that’s my guy and I didn’t want him to go, but, I mean, listen, I felt like that’s where he belongs. I felt like that’s where his heart has always been, even in the one year in Chicago.
“I just felt like that’s where he belonged. I mean, you want to be as happy as you can when you’re in this profession, and I felt like Miami is the best place that creates happiness for him. So I hated to see him go, I wish he was still here, but I understand. That’s why there’s no hard feelings.”
This is all kinds of not-so-shocking.
James and Wade have been friends for a long time. They entered the league together. They hatched a plan to play together. They made that plan into a reality during 2010 free agency. They then went to four straight NBA Finals and won two titles together. Then, around three years after LeBron left Miami, they crossed paths again, this time Cleveland.
If their friendship has endured both distance and close proximity for about 15 years, why would that change now? Maybe it seems awkward that Wade joined the Cavaliers only to be sent back to the Heat by February. But it’s not like they traded him to the Sacramento Kings. They gave him the option, per McMenamin, to stay. He chose Miami. So, yeah, Wade and LeBron were always going to be fine. That’s part of their charm: Their relationship transcends basketball.
