"Probably one of the hardest things I had to do in sports" - Dwyane Wade's biggest sacrifice turned into his crowing achievement

2011 was more than just a failure for the Miami Heat — it was a learning curve for two of the game’s decorated superstars. Joining forces a summer earlier, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade might’ve been convinced that talent alone would win them a title or two. But weeks into their first season together, it became clear to the superstars that a little more leg work was required to squeeze the most out of the orange.

The issue wasn’t just realizing that they needed to operate with more cohesion — they had to learn how to play with cohesion. And that is something they battled with all season long. When the Dallas Mavericks knocked them out in the 2011 NBA Finals, it gave way for one of the superstars to accept a harsh reality.

“ I thought me and him did a good job of trying to communicate and talk, but it was still unnatural because we're both so used to it being our show," Wade said in 2012, per ESPN.com.

Against most teams, James and Wade could take turns on offense because they were overwhelmingly talented. But against legitimate contenders, things weren’t so easy all of a sudden. So, who was the one that was going to make that cerebral sacrifice: No. 6 or No. 3?

"It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do in sports was to, in a sense, take a step back," Dwyane said of his role . "A lot of people don't understand. They'll say, 'Why would you do that?' To me, I want more success from winning. I don't want another scoring title. I'm just trying to win."

"I felt that it had to come from nobody but me, to say, 'Go ahead, man. You're the best player in the world. We'll follow your lead.' Once I said that, I thought he kind of exhaled a little bit," he added.

Instant success

The 2011 hardship gave way to an unforgettable 2012. After a long and arduous summer for Bron and the Heat, they knew they would enter next season with even more suffocating pressure and expectation.

Wade willingly taking a backseat was the driving force behind a championship march for Miami. After they were nearly dead even in scoring average the previous season, No. 3 let LeBron have the keys to the kingdom. No. 6’s scoring average was up over 27 points per game, while the 2006 Finals MVP was down at around 22.

The Heat were 33-7 40 games into the season as The King was the decided front-runner for the league MVP award. Weeks later, the superstar forward garnered 120 of the 121 possible first-place votes — earning him his third MVP award. However, individual success was in LeBron's rearview mirror. He had just about every trophy in his closet. After a forgettable performance against Dallas nearly one year earlier, it was all about winning a championship.

The James-Wade Miami experiment came to a head on the evening of June 7. For hours leading up to the game, all that was being discussed on TV was what trade package the Heat could acquire when they were forced to trade their superstar guard and Chris Bosh. Yes, many thought Miami losing to Boston was already a forgone conclusion—until LeBron happened.

The league MVP snatched Boston’s soul in Game 6 at TD Garden with an Oscar-worthy performance — literally. It felt like his act in the 45 minutes he played was a scene out of a movie.

Wade’s sacrifice would ultimately pay off when he and his two classmates stood on stage with the Larry O’Brien trophy in their possession to cap off a historic 2011-12 season.

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A mentor to James

Becoming a teammate to the great D-Wade was a career-changer for Bron. He came with all the talent in the world straight out of high school — ability was never the issue for “The Chosen One.” He just hadn’t mentally arrived at a point where he could combine his physical gifts with an unbothered psyche to create the best version of himself.

The 2006 NBA champion pulled his buddy to the side after their first season and told him to be himself. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be the follower’ is effectively what The Flash told him. His sacrifice pushed the King to the brink, and that instigated his most lethal form.

Taking what he learned from his big brother, LeBron was able to take a retooled mindset back to Cleveland, where he led the Cavs franchise to its first-ever NBA title. Without the help of his friend, James wouldn’t be the same player.

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