NBA great and basketball analyst Dwyane Wade recently wrote an article for athletic Highlighting the three best leaders he has played with in his career. This piece stays true to his Heat roots, as he highlights Pat Riley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Udonis Haslem.
But missing from the list was LeBron James, who is often considered one of the great leaders in the NBA and was Wade's co-star when the two won two championships in 2012 and 2013. Regarding Pat Riley, Wade talked about Pat's attention to detail and ability to remain calm under fire.
"Where Pat was great was his attention to detail. That's something I try to pride myself on, even now... A lot of times, as a player, your mind, your emotions, your anxiety are all over the place. You make some mistakes, and you start thinking too much. He was a cool guy. Whenever I went over to him during the game, he would put his hand on me and give me a calm feeling and reset me."
Speaking about Shaq, he talked about his defensive ability and the mentor role that O'Neal played in his early career en route to his first championship.
"He showed me tricks. He showed me how to be a superstar on and off the court. He even gave me the nickname "Flash." He sat down and talked to me about authenticity and making sure my DNA was in everything I did. It changed the way I went into meetings, it changed my brand and the way I thought about myself.
And as for Udonis Haslem, whom Wade often praises when talking about his Heat tenure, he talked about his ability as a leader and his respect for his voice.
"UD was never one of the top guys when it came to stardom, but he still had the loudest voice in the locker room. When he talked, everyone listened because we knew it wasn't coming from a selfish place at all. It was coming from a guy who would give everything in his body for you in any game. He'd take penalties for you. He was making the least money as an undrafted guy, but he cared. No. He made sure everyone in the locker room followed the rules, even when LeBron James and Chris Bosh came in.
This article was less about the chemistry on the court and more about his unique experience with these locker room leaders. But Wade has spoken highly of James in other places, and James has spoken candidly about how his partnership with Wade was important to his career.
In comments received after Wade and James' final game against each other in December 2018, LeBron talked about Wade and their successful pairing.
"I personally think I would have been a lot more successful in this league without D-Wade," LeBron said. "But I really needed him to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish in this league, and that is to win at the highest level. And that's when I made the jump, and what he did for me when I went to Miami, I appreciate more than I can express in words. You have to think about how I spent the first 25 years of my life in Akron, Ohio. I spent 18 years in high school, and then the first seven years of my professional career I'm still “I was living in Akron, Ohio, so that’s all I knew.”
