Dwyane Wade Talks About Championships, LeBron James, and Rivalries

You might expect that if you ask Dwyane Wade which version of the Miami Heat he thinks is better, this version or the 2006 version, he’d give you a “politically correct” response. Wade didn’t hesitate though, saying that it was “the ’06 version! This one’s got to win one!”

However, in order for the Heat to win a title, Wade said, while laughing, that “we gotta get a season going. That’s a start.”

If and when there is a season, he believed that all they needed was “more time together. For one year, we did decent—better than we did previously, so we set the right amount of goals. Then we can get that kind of memory going.”

His chemistry with fellow All-Star LeBron James will be an important thing for the Heat if they want to continue to improve.

“It just takes time to develop,” he explained. “In any relationship in life you need it.”

When asked how LeBron’s post game will impact him and his ball-handling duties, Wade responded, “A little bit of both. A little bit of ball handling. He’ll get in the post, I’ll get in the post. He’ll have the ball, I’ll have the ball. It’s about what our coach wants to do. The best game is what we’re going to do.”

The implicit endorsement of coach Eric Spoelstra in “what our coach wants to do” suggests that, perhaps, last season’s drive to the NBA Finals should quench any rumors of a mid-season replacement by Pat Riley.

Regardless of whoever is handling the ball, they should see more production from starting point guard Mario Chalmers. Wade praised him, saying, “He got better just in the playoffs. His confidence grew.  His confidence is now where his confidence should be. He’s got it.”

If both Wade and James are developing their post games, and with Chalmers developing as a point guard, the Heat will be looking to take things to the next level next season.

As the players learn one another and grow more comfortable—both in their roles and as players—Wade is looking for the Heat to continue to improve as a team.  

Wade outs two particular teams as rivals standing in their way toward Eastern Conference supremacy: “In Boston, they have what, four or five Hall of Famers? And in Chicago, they have a special young nucleus. I see battling them for years to come.”

For now, though, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next season—if there is one.