Dwyane Wade on LeBron: 'One of the smartest basketball players I've ever been around'

By foxsports
Published

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James won't have to wait long to be reunited as teammates. The two buds will come together over All-Star Weekend in a few days, both competing for the Eastern Conference.

James and Wade played together from 2010 to 2014 with the Heat, reaching the Finals each of the four seasons they shared the floor and winning two of those appearances. And apparently, Wade still has a whole bunch of respect for the man he still considers a friend.

Via Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald:

"The biggest thing is, he's one of the smartest basketball players I've ever been around. I mean, I look at myself as a pretty intelligent basketball player. But I'm not as smart as him, from the standpoint as far as his ability to put guys in certain situations. To be able to read every guy's position. It was pretty impressive, how he was able to -- no pun intended -- be a coach on the floor."

That's high praise for James, but it's also highly unsurprising. James' court vision is some of the best we've ever seen. His basketball instincts are unparalleled. You don't become the best player of your generation without those attributes. And LeBron has even earned a reputation for having an almost photographic memory of plays. Coaches can come up to him, ask him about a random play during the third quarter of a meaningless December game against Milwaukee, and he actually remembers it. It's remarkable. And it's why people talk about his brain the same way they talk about his talent. 

Surely, Wade isn't the only player who feels this way about the man who's been to five consecutive Finals.