It’s been 20 years since Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were drafted in the most highly anticipated draft of all time. Since then, the two ‘best friends’ have gone on to become some of the greatest basketball players of all time. Wade, who relied on James and, played second-fiddle to him in their four-year Finals run with the Heat, had his doubt about ‘The King’ when he was coming as a young prince. An established college guard playing for Marquette at the time, Wade found the hype around the 16-year-old hard to believe.
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In 2001, when he was just out of 10th grade and yet to be a junior in high school, James was recognized as the best high school player by SLAM magazine. The surrounding hype was so generational that the journalists had a notion of it being a disappointment if he fails to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The games of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School were nationally televised on ESPN2 in his final two years at the school. Wade who was in his final two years with Marquette then, couldn’t believe any of it.
Dwyane Wade found it hard to believe that people saw LeBron James NBA-ready at 16
In a recent appearance on Bill Bellamy’s podcast, Dwyane Wade and the actor elaborated on the SLAM magazine interview LeBron James did when he was in 10th grade.
At first, Wade said he thought, “Stop playing, [16 y/o LeBron James can’t go to the NBA],” but then within a couple of months, he changed his mind when he saw him playing as a junior.
“Had heard of LeBron. I remember it was an interview he did. He was a junior in high school. He [the interviewer] was like, ‘Yeah, he can go to the NBA now’. I’m like, ‘Stop playing’. Seen him play a couple of months later, ‘yeah, yeah, they right,’” said Wade on the Top Billin’ with Bill Bellamy.
Listen to the conversation in the following clip by breakbeatmedia.
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Nothing about that hype was too much. As soon as James stepped onto the court, he got close to a $100 million deal with Nike. He also became a consistent figure on the cover of sports magazines like Sports Illustrated. This was something the league last saw 19 years before that when Michael Jordan came in.
In the 20 years since his draft, that guy made 19 All-Star appearances, and 19 All-NBA teams, while winning 4 championships, 4 MVPs, and Finals MVPs, and is also on the top of the scoring list and 4th on the all-time assists list.
Sounds insane? But wasn’t he supposed to do all of this? The 38-year-old is until going strong and will probably play beyond his 40s.
Dwyane Wade’s theory of James’ retirement
In a recent appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Wade talked to Shannon Sharpe about the retirement of his former teammate.
The 13-time All-Star praised the physical specimen of the 6ft 9’ juggernaut. However, he also said it’s the mind which gets tired first, then the body. And that his mental strength should be as highly appreciable as his IQ.
“That’s one of his strongest tools is his mind. We know it from a IQ standpoint. ‘Oh man, he has a crazy IQ’. No, he has an intelligent, strong mind that allows him to keep going. As long as his mind stays strong, which obviously gets harder and harder every year, and his body stay strong, he can average 20+ for the next couple years,” said Wade on Club Shay Shay.
Don’t be surprised though if James defies Wade again and averages 25 PPG and plays 4 more years. That man can do anything.
