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LeBron James Congratulates Dwyane Wade on Being Candidate for Basketball HOF
December 22, 2022
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James saluted former teammate Dwyane Wade on being a nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2023.
Wade, a 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion, is among the first-time nominees. He's widely expected to go in on the first ballot. Basketball Reference gives him 100 percent Hall of Fame odds based on his résumé.
Wade averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists ad 4.7 rebounds per game over 16 seasons and was one of the best 2-guards of his era. A member of the NBA's 75th anniversary team, he came in at No. 26 when ESPN ranked the greatest players ever in 2020 and at No. 28 when The Athletic published its own list in 2022.
No player has been more closely associated with D-Wade than LeBron.
Wade and James spent four-plus seasons together, first with the Miami Heat and then with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their reunion in Northeast Ohio only lasted 46 games before Wade headed back south to Miami.
During their four-year Heat run, the pair won two titles. Along with Chris Bosh, they helped usher in a new era in the NBA. Increased player empowerment was probably inevitable as the league's revenues rose, but The Decision is the clear demarcation point when top stars began wielding more influence and control over their careers.
The Hall of Fame will announce its newest inductees on April 1 during the weekend of the 2023 Final Four. Assuming Wade is among the honorees, you can expect James to be in attendance when he officially joins the game's icons at the enshrinement ceremony in August.