“We have been close friends for a long time. Myself, Melo, and him, we have been really close.” Kobe Bryant once spoke about his deep off-court bond with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. Their relationship strengthened after the Olympics, where they won as ‘The Redeem Team’. But it’s not just The Flash who fondly remembers the Lakers’ legend; even Heat teammate Udonis Haslem has a few stories up his sleeve. But what’s so nostalgic for these greats?

“It was beautiful to watch when we played the Lakers at 8 o’clock and Kobe is in at four o’clock. Shooting four hours before the game, it was just beautiful. And it was beautiful to watch because I talked about this earlier. He would guard D-Wade ‘I want that matchup. I want to guard him too.'” Staying true to his character, Black Mamba always cherished guarding the best player in the opposition team, felt the former Heat captain. But this is not the end of the context. Haslem also stated why Kobe had stayed away from guarding him.

“I ain’t going down to guard UD, because UD ain’t get no goddamn shots. I’m going to go down and I’m going to guard D Wade.” On his podcast, Haslem spoke about the interaction with Kobe Bryant involving Dwyane Wade. That’s what the Miami native misses in today’s game. “Watching those, watching that mentality of MJ and Kobe and those dudes taking those two-way matchups, dog. That’s what I miss.” But did you know Kobe once backed out of an altercation involving Udonis Haslem?

On the same podcast, the 44-year-old added, “We were playing against the Lakers, me and Dwight going back-and-forth, and then Kobe got involved. I said, ‘Stay outta this, Kobe. This ain’t got nothing to do with you.’” Naturally, the late great NBA legend is never known to back down from opponents, but in this case, he did.

“And he said, ‘Oh, so you’re a tough guy now?’ I said, ‘No, I’m a real n—–.’ And he shut up,” claimed Udonis Haslem. Even though he backed down from one heat player, he wasn’t going to back down from another. Living in such an era does bother many because only these fierce actions made the game attractive and gave us memories to cheer.

Did Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant’s relationship get better after a hit?

Both stars throughout their careers established themselves as hard-nosed two-way guards. From scoring to defending, they would not shy away from any competition. One such instance came during the All-Star game back in 2012 All-Star game. Kobe and D-Wade continued their strong defensive approach and eventually the latter unknowingly broke the former’s nose. After the game, the Heat legend dialed up and received a surprising response.

“Bro, I love it. I’ll see you in a couple of days.” Dwyane Wade recalled the conversation with Black Mamba. Even though Kobe was not angry or upset about the situation, he still exacted his revenge. In their next meeting, the Lakers legend scored 33 points and held Wade to just 16. Plus, led the Lakers to a 93-83 victory, making sure he cashed in the previous receipts.

That is what Udonis Haslem is missing the most about Black Mamba. It’s not just UD or Dwyane Wade, even the fans fondly remember all the contributions and legendary battles throughout his career. But can we expect the good old rivalries back on the court?