This NBA Saturday Showcase will be a bromance affair. The Cavaliers are set to take on the Chicago Bulls tonight but that's not the real story. The main story is LeBron taking on his old teammate and great friend Dwyane Wade. Both players are having good seasons with their teams, and even though their opponents now, their friendship is something that will last forever.
Deeper than basketball
LeBron and Wade had a friendship way before the were even drafted. They were both in the same draft class, the '03 class, as James was the first overall pick and Wayne was drafted fifth overall.
James was fresh out of high school, while Dwyane was a junior from Marquette. Their friendship started at the pre-draft workouts in Chicago when Wade and James were both in the doctors office. They both seemed to just hit it off from there. They opposed each other for ten seasons, keeping in touch and making each other better as they are bestfriends off the court, but fierce competitors off the court.
Then when James made "the decision" to join Wade and Bosh in Miami, that only made their friendship even stronger. Wade deferring to James and taking a lesser role was a big move for him, but Wade was fine with it as many star players like Wade's caliber wouldn't have been. The times in Miami were great as they made it to 4 straight NBA Finals, winning two of them.
James and Wade share more than just basketball similarities, they both are fathers, businessmen and husbands. They share advice on many of those topics, showing that their friendship is deeper than basketball. They laugh and tease each other, most notably when James had to wear a Chicago Cubs outfit due to him losing a world series bet.
They both say that their friendship will last forever, no matter the situation and they know they can call on each other whenever they need to.
Game time
Moving past their friendship, James and Wade are always looking forward to facing each other on the floor. Saturday night they will get another chance at that, as Wade is leading the Bulls fresh off a win against Phoenix.
The Bulls have fell short of expectations this season having a 29-29 record this season. Wade personally is averaging 19 PPG and almost 4 APG. Wade's numbers seem low, but the Bulls have Jimmy Butler who takes on some of the scoring load as well. Wade's teams have had the upper hand on James' teams, winning five of the last seven meetings, including the last three.
LeBron's coach Tyronn Lue has expressed some concern about how LeBron plays against his good friend Wade. I'm sure LeBron is playing just as hard against Wade than anyone else because he wants to try to beat up on his friend. The LeBron led Cavs are 40-16 this season, first in the east. James missed shootaround Saturday morning, as he is fighting an illness.
His status is questionable, but I'm sure LeBron will be out there tonight for the game. James is averaging 25.7 PPG and almost 9 APG.
Tonight's game will feature two friends going at each other again. James and Wade will put their great friendship aside for this game, as the Bulls need this win, and the Cavs plan to build their lead in the eastern conference. Catch the game on ABC or on the WatchESPN app at 8:30 p.m. EST.
