LeBron admits Wade knows his secret motivation
If you haven't noticed, Dwyane Wade has been doing some fine work as a broadcaster for ESPN/ABC during the NBA Finals.
Following the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 3 win Tuesday, LeBron James joined his former Miami Heat teammate on the SportsCenter set at Quicken Loans Arena for an interview, and Wade asked him about motivation and playing with an "extra chip."
It's an excellent interview in general and is worth a listen, but the cryptic mystery motivation behind his historic NBA Finals output is the main draw:
Wade framed the "chip" question through the prism of Michael Jordan finding motivation in the 1997 NBA Finals from opponent Karl Malone winning that season's MVP award. It's not unlike now, when James – like Jordan then, the best player in the game – is facing off against a first-time MVP in Stephen Curry.
"I can't say I wasn't upset finishing third (in MVP voting)," James conceded to Wade. "But I didn't need that extra motivation."
James said the same thing Sunday, when he first prefaced that he didn't need extra motivation – even if it has helped the grit squad – but then alluded to this secret driving force that he wouldn't divulge. He did admit Wednesday that Wade knows what the secret is, as he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
Well, first of all, it's great to always see him and be alongside him. No matter if it's in a uniform or he's in a suit and I'm in street clothes. I thought he was great. Obviously our chemistry is great.
And he tried to get the secret motivation out of me, and I didn't give it to him, either. Even though I told him. But he won't tell you guys, though. He won't tell you all until hopefully after this is all over.
The source of motivation is something James, who's averaging 41 points in over 47 minutes in the Finals, hasn't shared with teammates either. Then again, maybe the entire thing is a ruse, because it appears to be keeping the underdog Cavaliers loose.
From USA Today's Sam Amick:
It's become a bit of a joke inside their locker room, a brilliant way to keep the mood light and fear-free when his teammates keep asking him on a loop, "Is it me? Am I your secret motivation. It's me, isn't it?"
James has matured in so many ways since he sat down on ESPN in July 2010 and torched his reputation with "The Decision." He has become the leader off the floor that many wanted him to become then, when it was a tall order for a then-25-year-old to take on.
His leadership on the court is a far more obvious matter. He's playing through myriad minor injuries and severe fatigue to carry a thinned-out roster, possession after possession, through the playoffs because, as he says, he has "no choice." That effort has galvanized the Cavaliers who remain standing, and they've matched James' intensity as best they can, executing far better than most expected possible from this group.