Former Indiana Pacers star Roy Hibbert shared that Dwyane Wade was more of a thorn in his side than LeBron James when the Miami Heat and Pacers faced off during Miami’s Big 3 era.
“Myself and the Indiana Pacers went to war with the Miami Heatles back in the day,” Hibbert reflected. “But as great as LeBron James was — and still is — Dwyane Wade was actually more of a thorn in my side.”
Hibbert spent seven of his nine seasons in the NBA as a member of the Pacers, and he earned a pair of All-Star appearances during his tenure with the team. He last played in the league with the Denver Nuggets during the 2016-17 regular season.
The Pacers met the Heat in the playoffs for three consecutive years from 2012 through 2014. The Heat came out on top in all three of those best-of-seven series, but none of Miami’s series victories came easily.
Miami needed six games for two of those series wins — the 2012 Eastern Conference semis and 2014 Eastern Conference Finals — and it took the Heat seven games to eliminate the Pacers in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
While Wade was one of the top shooting guards in the NBA when he and the Heat had those playoff matchups against the Pacers, James was even more dominant statistically, making Hibbert’s comments especially interesting.
James was Miami’s best scorer in every playoff series between the two teams during that era in terms of scoring average. He also shot the ball with better accuracy from the field than Wade did in all three series.
It’s worth noting that Hibbert might have been considering more than just the playoff matchups between the two teams when making his comments, as the teams also frequently met in the regular season.
The Pacers were perhaps the most consistent threat to the Heat in the Eastern Conference when Miami was led by its star trio, though it’s worth mentioning that the Boston Celtics — led by Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett — took the Heat to seven games in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston even held a 3-2 series lead at one point after winning Game 5 in Miami, but the team then lost Games 6 and 7.
Ultimately, no team managed to impede James, Wade and Chris Bosh from reaching the NBA Finals during their time as teammates, considering the Heat played in the championship series every year the Big 3 was together.