Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade sometimes gets overshadowed by LeBron James in the Big Three era.
One NBA great wants to set the record straight on that. Former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett, who matched up against the Heat several times in the postseason, gave Wade his props in James' development in Miami.
"Wade taught LeBron way more than people wanna give him credit for," Garnett said to Paul Pierce. "F*** that, you tripping. Wade had won already. LeBron didn't know how to win. He was a young superstar who played with a bunch of [expletive]. He never played with someone like D-Wade. As soon as he got with D-Wade, he learned all that s***.
Of course, Pierce was hesitant to give Wade credit, as the Celtics legend has been a public critic of Wade for years. But to Garnett's point, James never had championship success before Wade.
He won two MVP awards in Cleveland and led the team to the 2007 Finals, but he never got over the hump with a lack of star players around him. James switched to South Florida in 2010, where he went to four straight NBA Finals, winning two titles and two more MVPs in the process. Many consider this era to be the best of his legendary career. But beyond the accolades, Garnett argued that Wade helped James develop his mentality.
"Not only that, he got more nasty," Garnett said. "He was finna whoop Chalmers, he ain't never did no s*** like that before. He always wanted to be nice, dancing and s*** before, taking pictures. You remember Bron in Cleveland before he got to D-Wade? He made him nasty, he made him a f****** problem. If D-Wade wasn't on that team, we might've beat a Bosh and Bron team. D-Wade was that big of a presence."
Wade, the most decorated player in Heat history, spent 14 seasons with the team. He won three championships, including a 2006 Finals MVP, before the Big Three era. Wade was a 13-time All-Star and holder of many Heat all-time records. His defensive tenacity, killer mentality, and ability to score without a true 3-point shot make him arguably the greatest at his position, outside of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Of course, when you play with a player like James, it's easy for many to diminish your status. But even rivals like Garnett know Wade's impact on the team and James, even years later.