Wade Fans:Will You Ever Forgive Lebron For 2011 Finals?

[Vragrant]

The logical answer is yes, because of the battles with injuries Wade has faced over the last 2 seasons Lebron and a championship supporting cast, has allowed Wade to still add to his championship resume.

However.....and yet........the pungent stench of the 2011 Finals still lingers, haunting the dark enclaves of my memory. No matter how hard I try to drown it, it persists in bubbling up to the surface every time I see Wade grimacing, clutching his knee. Its an errant dunk here, a listless block attempt there, or a jumpshot that meekly falls off the front of the rim.

The 2011 Finals was the last time we saw Dwyane Wade as Dwyane Wade, as playoff Dwayne Wade, ....as FINALS Dwayne Wade and he could not wrest Finals MVP because Lebron's soul was demonized by fear.

It was the one last time Wade had of picking up a major accolade, (a huge accolade that could have moved him up significantly up the all time list), his last brush with individual glory, after a career of being overlooked and dare I say it, disrespected. A slew of all defensive/1st team NBA snubs would have been rectified.

Now we will never see it....again. That Wade is gone through a shifting of team dynamics/health/ and the damn near omnipotent shadow of Lebron.

It was the perfect finals for Wade to win. After the all the ridiculous BS Wade fans have had to put up for years about an alleged Stern rigged Finals, I really wanted Wade to put the final stake in the heart of that argument by destroying Dallas again en route to yet another legendary performance. The stage was set.....it was perfect. Now that I think back....almost too perfect.

I grudgingly forgive Lebron, but will never forget.

[DaSeba5]

Yes. I forgave LeBron. Especially since he redeemed himself, and is on his way to another title. If he didn't win last year, then I would have probably started to doubt LeBron would ever win like a lot of people did.

It hurts, but it's in the past. If you would have told me we would win the East after the season before that, I would have taken that in a heart beat.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

Hmm. Lebron performed poorly so there's not much point in harping over that. But Wade still could have performed better in the clutch, which is something the whole team had a problem with. Particularly, in game 4 when he missed the final free throw and fumbled the inbound pass. And he didn't play all that well in game 6.

But yeah, it would have been nice if Wade won that Finals MVP.

[dannysc305]

U guys think lebron sabotaged wade? Would he squander the opportunity to win his first ring just because wade overshadowed him? Sort of like that meme of lebrons reaction wheb wade won 2010 asg mvp and instead of clapping like everyone else he was in the corner all salty lookin n shit?LeBron kind of strikes me as a selfish two faced backstabbing disloyal person that does a great job vieling it. Im not too sure if lebron genuinely loves wade like a brother or if he over exxagerates it to stay on wades good side because he knows he needs a legit sidekick...idk but as a true lre lebron era heat fan it wouldnt surprise me one bit if he turns his back on declining wade and joins some other supreme talent im kinda bracing myself for it actually

[aburre21]

Bron pretty much had the same stats against the Mavs that Wade had against the Bulls in 2011...one series the Heat managed to win, the other they didn't

[DMV2]

Hmm. Lebron performed poorly so there's not much point in harping over that. But Wade still could have performed better in the clutch, which is something the whole team had a problem with. Particularly, in game 4 when he missed the final free throw and fumbled the inbound pass. And he didn't play all that well in game 6.

But yeah, it would have been nice if Wade won that Finals MVP.

He got hurt in the 3rd quarter of Game 5.

By the way, Game 4 was 100% LeBron's fault. 8 fcking points!!!!!
Wade could have missed 4 straight free throws and fumbled three straight possessions in that game and it would still have been LeBron's fault.

Wade was on his way to another All-Time great Finals performance and LeBron screwed him.

[SamuraiSWISH]

That 2011 Finals is a skid mark on LeBron, Wade's and the Miami Heat's "Big Three" era forever. No matter how dominant they get, or how high Bron ascends the all-time ranks, or how much Wade slips from people's consciousness of the player he used to be. I will always remember, and it will always affect all of their legacies in my book.

I'm of the mind LeBron deliberately gave up that season because Wade took the Finals by the horns and was making it his show. LeBron knew the "Pippen" narrative would be there if he didn't win his first ring as the definitive best player on the team. It's sad, it's pathetic.

Wade was balling that series, hell overall he was their best player that entire season and post season. He would be sitting on 2x FMVP and about to be his 4th ring this season if LeBron didn't throw the series. That's quite the resume right there. Wade prior to his hip flexor was incredibly clutch and dominant during that series. From the 2nd half of game 1 on he was the Heat's best player by a LARGE margin.

[Frozen1]

Wade got hurt in game 5, missed almost 2 quarters, and still finished with more points than lebron.

Lebron was a disgrace in the nba finals, and that 8 point performance on a pivotal game 4(miami would go up 3-1), was the biggest choke in professional sports history.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

He got hurt in the 3rd quarter of Game 5.

By the way, Game 4 was 100% LeBron's fault. 8 fcking points!!!!!
Wade could have missed 4 straight free throws and fumbled three straight possessions in that game and it would still have been LeBron's fault.

Wade was on his way to another All-Time great Finals performance and LeBron screwed him.

I know. I already said Lebron played terrible. It's just that the game was still within reach.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Bron pretty much had the same stats against the Mavs that Wade had against the Bulls in 2011...one series the Heat managed to win, the other they didn't

Context, not box scores clowns ...

Difference being Wade had a number of clutch defensive plays and shot that he hit in the final minutes of close games against the Bulls, even though he didn't play well for much of the series.

Most notably the 3 point play plus the foul he hit on the road in Chicago to change the entire momentum of the game into the Heat's favor. Shortly after that it seemed LeBron finally had the confidence to hit some shots.

You know ... after Wade made the game changing plays.

[Young X]

I'm a Wade fan who roots against the Heat and was happy they lost so

On one hand I was happy the Heat lost

On the other hand I lost respect for LeSabotage

[PJR]

Eh, I find it pretty silly hold a grudge over that. A Finals MVP in that series wasn't going to elevate Wade's 'legacy' that much IMO. It's all about context. For instance, that run would still pale in comparison to Wade's 2006 title run, due to the circumstances. Wade was consistently exceptional all through-out that post-season, and was the undisputed best player on the team thru the entire season. That wouldn't have been the case with the 2011 run.

People are too obsessed with individual legacies. A great player is a great player. Wade's going Springfield on the first ballot, when he retires. As a multiple champion at that.

And at the end of the day, No one will ever take away Wade's 2006 run. That's entrenched in NBA history, FOREVER.

This eras Heat team is LeBron's, and rightfully so. I'm just grateful that both of these players true peak years came in Miami Heat uniforms.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

Wade got hurt in game 5, missed almost 2 quarters, and still finished with more points than lebron.

Lebron was a disgrace in the nba finals, and that 8 point performance on a pivotal game 4(miami would go up 3-1), was the biggest choke in professional sports history.

His game 4 was terrible but he actually played decent in game 5.

[keep-itreal]

Yes. I forgave LeBron. Especially since he redeemed himself, and is on his way to another title. If he didn't win last year, then I would have probably started to doubt LeBron would ever win like a lot of people did.

It hurts, but it's in the past. If you would have told me we would win the East after the season before that, I would have taken that in a heart beat.

lol, why do you care?

You're a lebron fan, not a heat fan.

[pauk]

Did you even watch the series? Wade wasnt able to deliver in the clutch either / close out games enough and had some very bad games to... Wade led them in PPG but that doesnt mean he didnt underperform, he had 3 games where he performed worse than Lebron overall and his Game 5 & especially Game 6 was horrible... it all got overshadowed/forgotten by everybody talking about Lebron underperforming, Lebron didnt even seem to try and perform, its not like he shot bad or something... his 18 ppg was the exact result of taking a backseat to Wade and Wade just wasnt able to deliver enough....

Wades/Lebrons decisions cost them the Finals, that year they had chemistry issues and offense was basically "my turn your turn", they figured out very accurately who was gona take the backseat next year in order for them to succeed.... and look what happened... and will happen again...

The only way they were gona win that 11 Finals is if Lebron didnt take that backseat to Wade and performed up to his standards (taking more shots than he did is a good start, he averaged only 14 FGA), which means no FMVP for Wade anyways...