As the Miami Heat prepare to begin defense of their back-to-back NBA titles and LeBron James seeks to join Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in becoming just the third player over the last two decades to lead his team to a league three-peat, team President Pat Riley insists everyone in the Heat organization is now finally on the same page.
"Dwyane (Wade) realizes that he's playing with the real deal and that in the biggest moments the ball will be in LeBron's hands," Riley told ESPN of how the two superstars have come to accept and excel at playing alongside one another. "And he realizes that doesn't make a difference. If they keep winning, and make sure that's priority No. 1, they'll go down as one of the greatest teams in history."
Indeed, it's been a process for the Heat, one where James tells ESPN he's had to master the art of diplomacy almost as much as he's had to swishing jump-shots.
"It's about letting him know who he still is," James said of keeping Wade's confidence and focus at the levels that have made the man known as Flash a surefire Hall of Famer. "You're still D-Wade and no matter what people say you can still get it done."
In a far-ranging interview, James also told ESPN he grew up watching "Jordan more than anybody." He later added "the greatest thing about MJ was that he never was afraid to fail. And I think that's why he succeeded so much -- because he was never afraid of what anybody ever said about him. Never afraid to miss the game-winning shot, never afraid to turn the ball over. Never afraid. That's one of my biggest obstacles. I'm afraid of failure. I want to succeed so bad that I become afraid of failing."
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