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“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”
Perhaps LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers need to invest in a few shirts with Rudy Tomjanovich’s old 1995 Houston Rockets slogan on it if they can pull off three more wins like Sunday night’s two-point victory in Oracle Arena. Then he can slide one to Dwyane Wade. Not as an early gesture to snatch his buddy out of South Beach, but it would serve as a reminder of what he plays for.
Earning money to provide for their families should be an athlete’s top priority. However, after 12 years of comfort and making over $100 million — in NBA contract cash alone — the ultimate goal should be seeing how many trophies they can hoist. And if they have already had that pleasure, the narrative should shift to how many more rings they could add to their collection, not collecting another payday.
James getting to his sixth NBA Finals appearance should pose enough motivation for Wade not to settle. That’s especially the case since defeating the Golden State Warriors would leave the two friends tied for championship celebrations, instead of the Miami Heat star being one up on the best player in the world.
Having the stats to be, arguably, the third best shooting guard of all time is enough to place Wade in the Hall of Fame, but a potentially stacked starting lineup in a severely weak Eastern Conference should make him reconsider the difficulty that the salary cap hit from opting out will cause the team’s competitive future. Then he should do the opposite.
Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.
