Dwyane Wade made his last visit to Dallas on Wednesday night as the Heat pulled out a win over the Mavs, with the Heat legend swapping jerseys with Dirk Nowitzki after it was all said and done.
It was a nice moment between two long-time rivals who met in a pair of NBA Finals, with each coming out with one victory apiece (each winning their first title against the other), helping to cement their Hall of Fame legacies. While Wednesday was a night for nostalgia, for Dallas this season is all about the future, namely with rookie sensation Luka Doncic.
The plan for the Mavs is clear, they want to build around Doncic and recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis to compete in the near future. After getting his first chance to see Doncic up close and personal, Wade heaped significant praise on the rookie and made a comparison that he doesn’t offer up lightly. Wade said Doncic’s ability to hit shooters in the pocket on passes while under pressure from the defense reminds him of his friend, former teammate, and long-time best basketball player on the planet, LeBron James.
Dwyane Wade on Luka: "quote me right where I say this – it’s LeBron James-like from the standpoint of how he’s able to rope that pass to shooters in corners, getting blitzed. There’s not many guys who can do that and put it right there. He does an amazing job of it."
— tim cato (@tim_cato) February 14, 2019
That’s some high praise coming from Wade, who knows exactly what it means to put this kind of comparison into the world. Doncic is an otherworldly talent and has a preternatural ability to probe a defense and make a smart basketball decision, which is certainly one of James’ best attributes.
It’s obviously important to note that Wade isn’t comparing Doncic’s game as a whole to LeBron, just the passing part of it, but any time someone can get that kind of comp from someone as familiar with James as Wade, that says volumes about them as a player.
