Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade recently spoke with Ben Golliver of the Washington Post and offered some insight into his playing career.
Wade spoke about what it was like playing with LeBron James and implied that he “stopped caring about individual stats” by the time James joined the Heat.
Wade explained that he realized individual stats were meaningless after he didn’t win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year honors in the 2008-09 season. He felt that he should have, and when he didn’t, he stopped caring.
“I didn’t care about individual stats,” Wade said. “I just came off a year in 2008-09 where I thought I should have been MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, and I didn’t get either one of them. I stopped caring about individual stats because I realized that didn’t mean anything.”
Whatever mindset Wade adapted, it worked, as he ended up helping Miami win two NBA titles during its Big 3 era with James and Chris Bosh.
Wade retired with three NBA championships to his name. All of them came with the Heat.
The future Hall of Famer finished his playing days with averages of 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He earned 13 All-Star selections along the way.
Although the Heat legend stopped caring about personal accomplishments during his career, he still racked up an impressive list of accolades. He will likely always be regarded as one of the greatest players in Heat history.
Miami hasn’t won an NBA title since 2013, but the organization is hoping to see that change this season.