LeBron James and Dwyane Wade evened their lifetime season when the Miami Heat took down the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. The matchup didn’t seem likely at the start of the season, as Wade was signed by the Cavaliers in free agency shortly before the year started. But little has worked out in Cleveland the way people expected, and Wade was one of a handful of players that were traded at the deadline last month.
Wade reflected on his matchup against his friend and former teammate and called James one of the best to ever play the game. But when James was asked about their embrace at the end of the game and what Wade’s future will hold, he indicated that Wade might not come back next season at all.
“At the end of the game, we just kind of had that moment like 15 years strong — as brothers, as teammates, as competitors, as teammates again, as competitors again,” James said about their hug according to the Miami Sun-Sentinel.
James was pressed about what might happen to Wade and if he will retire after this season, but he focused on their friendship off the court more than on it.
“But our brotherhood is beyond this game of basketball. You just don’t take for granted. You just don’t know. We’ll see what happens in the summer.”
James said he was covering all bases, with Tuesday the third and final meeting between the teams during the regular season.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” James said. “Just kind of hearing the narrative since he came here, he’s not quite sure what he’s going to do next year. He’s going to assess everything.”
Wade was digging the head-to-head comparisons between the two after his win.
There’s still a chance the two play in the postseason for the first time, which would make all of this a bit moot. But the narrative for Wade is now firmly established this season: whatever happens, it might actually be the last time we see him on the court.
