A friendship. A rivalry. Wade & LeBron

Dwayne Wade and LeBron James will share the court one last time tonight in Staples Center.

All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, tonight will mark the last matchup between Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. “The Flash” (Wade) and “The King” (James).

The two of them go way back to June 26, 2003… the day both James and Wade were drafted to the NBA. LeBron James was selected 1st overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers as Wade got taken four spots later with the 5th overall selection to the Miami Heat. The two of them grew very fond of one another in the Eastern Conference early on in their young careers. It was the start of something new.

The Wade-James friendship is really quite unique. Through thick and thin the two stars have stuck together showing us that nothing can come between them. In 2010 they took their friendship to a whole another level. On July 1st, 2010 LeBron was set to become a free agent. He was contacted by several teams including the Bulls, Clippers, Knicks, Nets, Heat, or to return to the Cavaliers. A week later, The King departed “The Land” to take his talents to South Beach Florida. It did not come by surprise to many that James chose Miami. They had Dwayne Wade! Wade and James went on to team up with center Chris Bosh who was selected 4th overall in the same 2003 NBA draft to the Toronto Raptors. It was said that the trio has previously discussed about teaming up together during their free agency of 2010 back in 2006. LeBron was practically a one-man team with the Cavaliers and it made perfect sense to team up with Wade and Bosh to win a championship.

The trio went on to lose their first finals appearance to the Dallas Mavericks, however, they responded well and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder the year after. James and Bosh notched their first NBA Championship as Wade earned his second. Miami was just getting heated up as they came back for the 2012-13 season to repeat as back to back champions. Then the 2013-14 season would mark the beginning to the end for the trio. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh would end their illustrious time together in Miami the way it started… with a loss in the Finals. This time to the San Antonio Spurs who took vengeance on the trio for the previous seasons loss in the Finals.

LeBron had a decision to make. Stay or leave Miami? James undid a partnership both him and Wade had made four years earlier as he elected to leave Miami in the 2014 free agency. Wade, with no previous knowledge of what LeBron was going to do opted out of his contract in hopes to sign another long-term extension with his buddy in Miami. Instead King James felt he owed it to the people of Cleveland and returned home to team up with Kyrie Irving where he delivered perhaps his most memorable championship win. Down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers battled back to knock off the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. He and Kyrie would last a mere 3 seasons until Kyrie called it a quits and requested a trade from the Cavaliers.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Wade departed Miami to join his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2017 offseason. He went on to team up with Rajon Rondo and the disgruntled Jimmy Butler, with the trio being coined as the “Three Alphas”. That stint wouldn’t last too long as Wade and LeBron got reunited together again in Cleveland on September of 2017. That stint did not last too long with Wade and former Cavalier head coach Tyrone Lue balking at one another, Wade got demoted to the bench role after a mere 3 games into the season. Shortly before the trade deadline on February 8th, 2018, the Cavaliers committed to a massive overhaul to their roster. The Cavaliers wanted to “do right” with Wade which meant sending him back to Miami.

The last time the Lakers and Heat played, LeBron made history as the fifth player to drop 50+ points with 3 different teams. Unfortunately, Wade couldn’t play in that matchup as his daughter was born the same day. Monday night will cap off a beautiful 16 years together in this league where they have had their ups and downs. Playing together in two stints, breaking up twice, and winning two championships together. Lebron James. Dwayne Wade.

One. Last. Dance.