Mark Cuban on Dwayne Wade: “I have a lot of respect for him now”
The Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks met in the NBA Finals in 2006 and 2011. Heat shooting guard Dwayne Wade was the Heat’s catalyst in winning the match up in 2006, while the Mavericks shocked the world in 2011 when they took down the South Beach Big 3.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hasn’t been a huge fan of Wade in general since this healthy rivalry began in 2006. But now, Cuban is embracing the respect he has for the three-time champion, as he told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News:
“Not anymore,” Cuban said when asked if he dislikes Wade. “At the beginning, I did because I think he thought he was entitled to everything that happened in that (2006) series. But it’s been eight years. I mean, I take a little bit of joy in games where he doesn’t go to the free throw line. But I like D-Wade now. He’s a guy who does a lot of good things off the court and I have to respect that.
“But if you’d have asked me eight years ago, it would have been a different answer….
“I give him credit off the court,” he said. “He’s gone from flash to being a good representative of the NBA. I respect that. He seems to be more about family and community. He went through some off-the-court hardships, I guess. But yeah, I have a lot of respect for him now. I think he and LeBron helped each other grow up. I don’t hold a lot of animosity at all.”
Cuban seems sincere on his feelings towards Wade and now the evolution of those feelings. It’s hard to be a fan of a guy who did to your team what Wade did to Dallas in 2006, but the 2011 get-back must have helped. Regardless, Dwayne Wade is one of the top shooting guards of all time.
Respect that man!