Lakers' LeBron James Celebrates Hall of Fame Former Teammate Earning Statue

Jeremy Hanna | Sep 16, 2024

Oct 11, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right) after game six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers won 106-93 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

While LeBron James is currently the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers, he has spent much of his 20+ season NBA career with other teams, including championship runs with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.

Recently, the Heat announced that they were going to honor NBA Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade with a statue outside of the Kaseya Center. Miami is planning to celebrate the 13-time All-Star with an event called "Statue Night" on Oct. 28, 2024.

"Our franchise GOAT getting basketball’s ultimate honor," the Heat Instagram page said. "Be here when the [Dwyane Wade] statue is officially unveiled."

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James celebrated his former teammate's honor by taking to Instagram and sharing the announcement on his story with plenty of hands in the air.

Along with Chris Bosh, Wade and James took the Heat to four NBA Finals in a row, winning two of them. Before that, Wade had led Miami to its first NBA Championship in 2006 and was named NBA Finals MVP.

Wade had played with the Heat for 15 seasons. In that time, he averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. In addition to the 13 All-Star teams, Wade made eight All-NBA teams, three NBA All-Deensive Teams, and was the NBA scoring champion in 2009.

Wade was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and had his number retired by the Heat.

Wade had been close to James ever since they were both selected in the 2003 NBA Draft. In an appearance on Carmelo Anthony's '7 PM in Brooklyn' podcast, Wade shared how much he loved playing with King James.

"I wanted those Larry O'Brien trophies, man," Wade admitted. "I already had one, and I knew how it felt. I needed to experience that again. I knew it was the perfect time in my career to put myself in that position again. LeBron is an incredible player, and you have to adjust to work effectively with him."

During his four seasons with Miami, James continued his All-Star streak and was also named NBA MVP in 2012 and 2013. He averaged 26.9 points per game with 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists. James was also named to four All-NBA teams and four NBA All-Defensive teams.

James has maintained this excellence, now entering his 22nd year in the NBA. Last season, he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game.

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