Dwyane Wade Reveals Why He Supported LeBron James' Decision to Leave Miami For Cleveland

Basketball fans in Miami were rocking in the early 2010s, when LeBron James made 'The Decision' to join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade and form a superteam. And quickly, the Heat became the league's best attraction, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Internally, the trio had planned on winning one more (at least), but that was until James decided to cut his trip to the 305 short.

In 2014, James decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and had Wade been livid with him for breaking up the band prematurely, it would have been understandable.

However, Wade carried no such ill feelings toward James. Instead, he fully understood why he had to return to the Cavs. He approved of James's decision to return to where it all started for him and redeem himself.

"I never even thought me and LeBron would be teammates, first of all. It was never a dream of mine," Wade said per Complex. "I loved when we played against each other. We went at each other. When we got an opportunity to do that, it was special.

"When he was ready to go back home, he got my blessing 100%," Wade added. "He needed to go back home and win a championship for his city. A part of his legacy, he needed that. It wouldn't have been enough just winning in Miami."

James' decision to join the Heat in 2010 marked the start of his villain arc. Returning to Cleveland in 2014 signaled the beginning of his redemption. But simply coming back was never going to be enough. He had won two titles after leaving the Cavaliers the first time. Now it was time to do the same in Cleveland and win back his home fans.

Bringing a title home was not easy, though. His comeback tour coincided with the meteoric rise of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

James had the title at his fingertips in 2015. Despite losing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to injuries during the postseason, he dragged the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals and even took a 2-1 series lead over the Warriors. However, Golden State's depth eventually proved too much, as the Warriors won three straight games to take the series 4-2 and deny Cleveland its first championship.

In 2016, the story was almost the same. The Warriors (who had finished 73-9 in the regular season) seemed too tough to beat, and it looked like they would deny the Cavs a championship for a second straight year. They were up 3-1 in the series before James and Co. made a historic comeback.

They won two games to force a Game 7 at Oracle Arena, where James produced one of the most iconic moments of his two-decade-long career.

The score was tied at 89 with just two minutes to go, and Andre Iguodala had broken free and was close to giving the Warriors a valuable lead with a layup. But James came from behind, seemingly out of nowhere, to block the shot. It left Iguodala stunned, and the arena was silenced. The Cavaliers eventually prevailed 93-89, with James earning Finals MVP honors.

He had finally fulfilled what Wade wanted him to do. He had delivered a championship to his hometown team, the same team that drafted him back in 2003.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James' paths would cross again

Fans will always remember Dwyane Wade for his time with the Miami Heat from 2003 to 2016 and again from 2018 to 2019. Many might even recall his brief hometown stint with the Chicago Bulls between 2016 and 2017. But his stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers sometimes flies under the radar.

Wade and the Bulls agreed to a buyout in 2017, leaving him free to choose his next team. He was already in his mid-30s at that point, but he was still one of the league's most reliable scorers. As such, several teams tried to recruit him.

Wade also could have just returned to the Heat, but he decided he'd pair up with James once again.

"He [LeBron] knew I could help this team in some way. I appreciated that. It wasn't the sole reason, but definitely everyone knows our relationship, and that he's a huge reason why I decided to come here," Wade said upon his arrival in Cleveland.

The Cavs needed an answer to the stacked Golden State Warriors squad. Acquiring Wade was a surefire way to add depth and veteran leadership. He provided that from the bench, averaging 11.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 23.2 minutes of action.

However, his stint there would be extremely short. He and James would not have another opportunity to play in the postseason together, as Wade was traded back to the Heat ahead of the 2018 trade deadline.

"Cleveland was a whole different beast, bro. It was a lot going on before I got there, obviously coming here as Bron's guy, I got thrown into the s—," Wade had said in Carmelo Anthony's podcast later, admitting that the move to Ohio never really worked out.

"They got me out of there quicker than a motherf—–, "Wade added.

James didn't win the title that year, losing to the Warriors once again in the Finals, and Wade spent one more season in the NBA before calling time on his career.