There’s an old saying that iron sharpens iron, and it was definitely true when it came to Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.
At Wade’s retirement ceremony on Saturday, he talked about how James helped him improve and how he, in turn, made James better as well.
Wade on LeBron: "LeBron James' greatness made me want to be greater. We developed a relationship very early on in our career. Every time we played each other, we knew it was gonna be a battle. … We challenged each other daily to be great for out team."
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) February 23, 2020
James and Chris Bosh teamed up with Wade in the summer of 2010 in the most hyped free agent class of all time. The noise, at times, was over the top, and thus there were lofty expectations for the “Heatles.”
During their brief four-year stint together, they didn’t disappoint much, as they reached the NBA Finals each season, winning back-to-back championships.
It was during this time that James started to evolve from simply an exceptional physical specimen to one who also had exceptional basketball IQ. The influence of Wade, who had already won an NBA title in 2006, as well as team president Pat Riley no doubt helped James reach those new heights.
During that time, James and Wade formed a brotherhood that lasts to this day. Their sons Bronny and Zaire both play together at Sierra Canyon School in the Greater Los Angeles area.
