LeBron James has been fortunate enough to play alongside countless stars throughout his time in the NBA, including Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Chris Bosh.
But Dwyane Wade might be James’ best teammate ever. He played second fiddle to James when the Miami Heat reached four NBA Finals and won two titles in a four-year span.
Half of James’ four NBA titles came when he was teammates with Wade on Miami, and the Heat wouldn’t have been as successful as they were if not for Wade’s contributions during that period.
With all that in mind, former Golden State Warriors star Rick Barry recently said that James wouldn’t have enjoyed the level of success that he has in the league without the help of Wade.
“LeBron wouldn’t have had the success that he had without a Dwyane Wade,” Barry said. “You don’t win championships by yourself — it’s a team. You have to have other people, and LeBron was fortunate enough to have a great player in Dwyane Wade, who was able to do amazing things.”
Keep in mind that Barry didn’t say James wouldn’t have succeeded if not for Wade, as there’s clear proof that the NBA’s oldest player still enjoyed loads of collective success after he played with the former Marquette University star.
After all, James won two titles with two different teams after he left the Heat for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014. First, he helped the Cavaliers win their first title in franchise history in 2016. Fast forward a few years, and he won the 2020 NBA championship with the storied Los Angeles Lakers franchise.
James has also accomplished an incredible amount as an individual without Wade by his side. The 39-year-old won two MVPs and led the league in scoring once during his first stint with the Cavaliers. Furthermore, he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer not all that long ago with the Lakers.
It’s been many years since James and Wade were teammates on the Heat, and yet the former is still one of the elite players in the league as he approaches his 40th birthday. He has yet to miss a game for the Lakers since the start of the 2024-25 regular season, and he’s averaging 23.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game.
