It is well known that LeBron James’ best friend is Dwyane Wade, who recently retired following the 2018-19 NBA season.
The two won a pair of championships with the Miami Heat and have remained extremely close through the years.
With Wade calling it a career, James is one of only two people remaining in the league from the 2003 NBA Draft. Following his first real injury last season and some noticeable slippage in his game, many came into this season believing James was on his last legs and not the same player he had been.
So far this season, James has quickly dispelled that notion with his play and Wade recently took to his Twitter to laugh at those suggesting his friend was ‘washed’:
Wait who said @KingJames was washed ???? ????????????????!!???? If 27,8,8 was washed last season where do 99 percent of basketball players sign up??? Y’all need to quit with this click bait news #FakeNews
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 6, 2019
James’ numbers certainly didn’t dip last season but as is always the case both positive and negative, stats don’t tell the whole story. At times, he seemed uninterested and checked out and even though his numbers were still outstanding, it was clear that his level of play wasn’t the same.
That can’t be said about this season, however. James has been locked in on both ends of the floor and looks every bit of the best player in the league as many still view him. James has heard the talks about him falling off and is happy to prove all of his doubters wrong as a recent tweet showed:
#WashedKing ???????? https://t.co/gM9mrkBvbF
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 6, 2019
James’ game dipping slightly in his 17th season in the league shouldn’t be that big of a deal. At this stage, it would be amazing if he still looked exactly the same in 2019 as he did in 2007. What the great players like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan did was adjust their games as they got older and James is beginning to do that as well.
James has become much better at operating in the post and has leaned even more into his passing and playmaking while selectively choosing his spots to take over scoring and ceding much of the offensive burden onto Anthony Davis.
It has all resulted in an outstanding start to the season for James and a lot of people waiting for his downfall are starting to quiet down.