Dwyane Wade had an incredible career that lasted for 16 years in the NBA. From the very beginning, he was extremely competitive and always wanted to win. This hunger ultimately won him the opportunity to compete for a title in 2006. As expected, Wade led the Miami Heat to a series victory. The early 2000s was when the Heat thrived. However, one thing led to another and Miami went back to being mediocre.
Between 2004 and 2008, Shaquille O’Neal played alongside the shooting guard. Shaq’s presence certainly helped Wade and the Heat. However, he left to play for the Phoenix Suns midway through the 2007-08 season. Two years later, teams such as the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics emerged. The Celtics and Lakers were building superteams and it was time for Wade to decide on how to move ahead.
General Manager Pat Riley and his team managed to secure LeBron James in 2010. The 2x MVP at the time was not in the most stable situation which led to him sign with the Heat. Along with him came Chris Bosh as well. James and the Heat were viewed as enemies of the league. Unfortunately, despite having a brief and successful stint together, fans blamed the Heat superteam for ruining the game.
Dwyane Wade admits that the Celtics Big 4 paved the way for the Heat superteam
Dwyane Wade and the Heat managed to win two titles between 2010 and 2014. However, before they won those titles, Miami faced a few battles that stopped them from winning championship gold. At first, it was the Dallas Mavericks that stopped the Heat in 2011. Wade openly admitted that the Mavericks were simply a better team and that JJ Barea had a lot to do with their downfall.
Despite all the struggles they faced, they were determined to come up top other rivals. During an interview with Kevin Garnett on NBA TV, Wade said, “First of all, y’all [Boston Celtics Big 4] was the sole reasons that we got together. We can’t compete with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rondo.” He added, “We got to get that toughness, we got to get that togetherness. We don’t get that, we don’t beat them.”
Turns out Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers were never the issue. The Lakers were coming off a championship victory in 2010 when the Heat superteam formed. Dwyane Wade simply discarded the Lakers as threats even though Garnett brought them up. Wade made it very clear that Garnett and his teammates were major rivals.
