When Dwyane Wade Revealed How LeBron James Almost Ended His NBA Career Accidentally After Losing 2011 Finals

Joseph Galizia | 30/03/2025
Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James 23 talks with former NBA, Basketball Herren, USA star Dwyane Wade during an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, in Los Angeles

LeBron James may not strike people as an individual who has a daredevil-like attitude. But there’s a side of the future Hall of Famer that few know about. Dwyane Wade has seen LeBron’s wild side. In fact, he once revealed that his old teammate almost ended his legendary career in the silliest way possible shortly after the Heat lost the 2011 NBA Finals.

Wade shared this wild story during a recent interview with Rachel Nichols from Showtime. Shortly after the 2011 Finals, Wade and James took their wives to a house in the Bahamas for a vacation, one that had a balcony and a pool. Well, Wade said that when James came into the house his curiosity got the better of him while standing on the balcony.

“How deep you think that is?” Wade recalled James asking about the pool. After a moment, Wade remembered guessing that the pool was about 8 or 9 feet deep. That was all LBJ needed to hear. “Took his stuff off, jumped into the pool from the balcony,” the Heat legend revealed while Nichols gasped. “This dude is crazy,” Wade added.

As fun as the memory was for Wade, the chance that James took seemed scary, considering he was still at an early point in his career. Nichols hammered that home with her genuine response. “That could be the end of his NBA career,” she nervously said. “He didn’t even think about that; he just jumped in the water,” Wade responded.

The Heat lost a tough series to a Dirk Nowitzki-led Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, so it makes sense that James was probably mentally exhausted. Fortunately, he didn’t let that keep him down. The Heat won the next two NBA Championships before losing to the Spurs in their fourth consecutive year. Thank goodness LBJ’s pool jump is just a story and not a headline.

Carmelo Anthony was once saved by LeBron James during a different Bahamas trip

James not only lives a daredevil life. He’s also been the savior. Carmelo Anthony revealed during an interview on All The Smoke that a 2015 Bahamas trip nearly ended very badly for him. Thank goodness, LeGOAT came to the rescue.

Melo explained that he was drifting away in the water during an outing with the boys. While his life was never in danger, he did need assistance. “Superman come to save the day,” said the 10-time All-Star with a smile. “Why’d it have to be him?” he jokingly asked.

Melo didn’t let that keep him down, though. He added that it was a fun metaphor for his life, explaining that he likes to go different ways than others in life decisions.

The more important question that should be asked is why are all these NBA superstars taking such risks in the Bahamas. Relax on the beach, fellas! We don’t wanna watch a season with you sidelined because a pool was too shallow.

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Carmelo Anthony Dwyane Wade LeBron James

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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