Mario Chalmers’ Huge Game Earned Some Respect From ‘Big Bro’ Dwyane Wade

When Mario Chalmers was traded to the Grizzlies, it signified the end of an era. Gone are the days of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh yelling at ‘Rio like he’s a screwup little brother. Sure, Chalmers is almost 30(?!?!), but on a new team without the complicated emotional history that he had with the Heat, maybe ‘Rio can finally spread his wings. On Monday night, he did a whole bunch of wing-spreading, to the tune of 29 points:

Before we go any further, let’s get this out of the way: Those throwback jerseys that Memphis wore on Monday night were fabulous. They were a throwback to the short-lived Memphis Sounds, an ABA franchise from the early ’70s, and a pretty spot-on one at that. The chunky numbers looked especially good on Zach Randolph’s back.

But back to ‘Rio, and his breakout for Memphis. He helped lead them to a big win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and after a shaky start to the season, the Grizzlies are at .500, in perfectly fine position to get back to the playoffs. Chalmers is a definite upgrade at the backup point guard slot to Beno Udrih, and his outside shooting will open up the floor for the always-desperate-for-spacing Grizzlies. But what of the Heat he left behind?

Well, Dwyane Wade, heart and soul of the Heat, has officially given ‘Rio his blessing to go out and do work against the rest of the NBA:

Obviously, since Chalmers was traded there aren’t any hard feelings between Wade and ‘Rio. But after all that yelling and scolding when the two were together, it’s good to have one last reminder that it’s all love between the two.