Dwyane Wade Says He, LeBron James, Chris Bosh Were Not First Superteam In NBA History: ‘The League Has Had That Throughout’

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade says he, LeBron James and Chris Bosh were not the first superteam in NBA history. 

James and Bosh joined Wade on the Heat in the summer of 2010. 

“Not responsible for a superteam,” Wade told NBA reporter Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “Maybe responsible for players getting together and making a decision. I don’t know what was done that preceded us. We definitely watched Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. We definitely watched Magic Johnson play with many great Hall of Fame players. We watched Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and so forth. We’ve seen it before.

“I think we did it in the time of social media and in a time that normally, from what it looked like from afar, organizations were the ones making the trades and the moves to bring these superteams together. We did it at a time when it was controversial because it was players deciding to do it in the middle of their primes. You see guys getting together a little older sometimes.”

The Heat went to four straight NBA Finals in the Wade-James-Bosh era. They won the title in 2012 and 2013. 

James won two MVPs and two Finals MVPs with the Heat before going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014. 

“You feel responsible for players understanding their power,” Wade said. “Even though I’m on this side of it now, I still love to see players understand their power. How you utilize it is on you when it comes to good or bad, but at least you understand it. I didn’t understand that we had any power when I first came in. The organizations usually did all the things, and you just hope for the best. We kind of changed that a little bit in this generation, but I can’t say we were the first ones to do that. I don’t feel responsible for superteams. The league has had that throughout.”