After Winning Custody Battle, Dwyane Wade Chose to Tell LeBron James Before Any Other Teammate

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade share a very close friendship. After all, they were in the same draft class (#1 and #5, respectively, in 2003) and won two championships together on the Miami Heat. Their bond strengthens over time, and the two have always supported each other. This became clearer than ever after an excerpt from Wade’s book ‘A Father First’ described how he trusted James with the results of his custody battle.

From 2007 (when they separated) until 2011, Wade and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches were involved in a bitter divorce and later custody dispute.

Understandably, the legal proceedings were hard on Wade. He was reportedly frustrated with the drawn-out battle and simply wanted to be awarded full legal custody as quickly as possible so he could enjoy his basketball again. Then, on 11th March 2011, the court finally granted his wish.

Since he had a game to play the very next day, Wade didn’t have much time to celebrate, nor did he break the news to his teammates. The only person he did tell was his best friend LeBron James. In his own words,

“The only person that I choose to pull aside before the game and tell about my getting full custody of the kids is LeBron James. He reacts with the same surprise, joy, praise, and relief as everyone in my inner circle has expressed so far. But since he knows we have a game to play, he does a good job of not letting on to the other guys.”

James’ congrats to Wade revealed how close their relationship was. It also demonstrated his respect for Wade’s word since he refrained from sharing the news with the rest of the team. Wade, for his part, was clearly relieved by the judgment. He played like a man possessed that day and led the team in scoring with 28. The Heat steamrolled the Memphis Grizzlies, walking away 118-85 winners.

Wade-Funches’ bitter legal battle

Only five years after tying the knot, Wade and Funches’ marriage started to fall apart. The NBA All-Star reportedly claimed their relationship was rocky. After being together since they were both 16, they’d both changed as adults and professionals. It seemingly looked like the couple were different people from who they were at 16, and their relationship simply could not handle their differences.

The couple had two children together, Zaire (born 2002) and Zaya (born 2007). After the birth of their second child, they decided to call it quits. The divorce and custody battle was long and tedious. Wade told the Associated Press that his life changed hugely after the verdict was rendered.

“Mentally, I’ve been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it’s bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids’ lives sometimes. You fight until you can’t fight anymore. That’s all I was trying to be, a father in his kids’ lives.”