"First championship before LeBron"- Dwyane Wade reveals how he won a ring before LeBron James took over the NBA

Dwyane Wade, the former star of the Miami Heat, recently disclosed a startling event from his major league career. He recalled about a time during the All-Star Weekend when he felt excluded. Even though the NBA player had a stellar career, there was a time in the league when he felt reportedly disrespected.

In early June, Slam Magazine spoke with the legend via Zoom to talk about the same. They further talked about the influence of the 2003 draft class on and off the court, and his latest pursuits.

Dwyane Wade reflects on the 2003 draft class and his race to win a title before LeBron James

Dwyane Wade still has a unique position in the NBA despite retiring and being a co-owner of the Utah Jazz. This NBA veteran has been humiliated in the league too, most prominently during the 2004 All-Star Weekend.During that time, LeBron James was taken number one by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They took Dwyane Wade too as a fifth-round draft pick. However, he had been playing well without much recognition. He recently said that he was somehow not receiving the acclaim that he deserved.

During the recent zoom interview, he told SLAM Magazine: "Growing into the leader of that team, I had to do more than I knew I could do to help us achieve that. And shout out to Shaq, and UD, and Posey, and GP, and all these guys who played their role to a T that allowed me to be able to perform at that level."

He continued:"The defensive role, the leadership role, Shaq getting double-teamed, all these kind of things helped me go to a different level... I was just happy I got a chance to get that first championship before LeBron got in here and started hogging all the Finals appearances."

Dwyane Wade bounced back stronger after early setbacks

With the help of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes, LeBron James was able to make it to the NBA Finals after several seasons. Meanwhile, talking about his early team and his experience playing with the current L.A. Lakers’, he said: "I had the team that they didn't have at that point. I had the team that was built to win a championship… Shout out to the Miami Heat and Pat Riley for making that big move to bring in Shaq.

And then eventually Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, J Will, James Posey. We had a squad."

He continued:"Those guys didn't have that kind of team yet. Bron didn't have that. Melo didn't have that. And CB definitely didn't have it at the time in Toronto… So, for me, I was like, Let me get to this now! Before these guys come in and take it. Let me get me a ring first."It was finally time for Dwyane Wade to bounce back after all the reported embarrassing incidents. He was more energised than ever when he rejoined the Miami Heat after scoring 22 points in the Rising Stars Game. He also defeated the Utah Jazz and scored an incredible 31 points to start the second half of the season.Also read: Dwyane Wade rips Bleacher Report for ranking Kobe Bryant 11th, questions credibility of all-time list