Part of the iconic 2003 NBA draft, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James created opportunities to play on the same team multiple times. First with the infamous Big 3 of Heat, and then for a shorter time for the Cavs. During their time in Miami, the Heatles, as they called themselves, had two NBA titles and four Eastern Conference championships in just four seasons. Yet it feels that it was an underachievement at the time, mainly because of the infamous speech from LeBron. Looking back at it now, D-Wade shared his exact reaction.

First, let’s recap the speech. “Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven … when I say this, I really believe it,” James said 14 years ago on a stage in Miami, flanked by fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh before thousands of supporters. The now-Lakers star predicted 7 championships for the stacked Heat side. Apparently, The Flash knew about the King James’ intention but said it should have been “an internal conversation.” On Pardon My Take, the 3x NBA champion spilled more team about the drama that took place.

“It’s just jokes,” Dwyane Wade clarified, standing up for his former teammate and best friend. “Yes, we thought we were going to be a problem. Yeah, we thought we were about to run the table, but we also knew the league was very, very good and it was not that damn easy.” The 43-year-old already led the Heat franchise to one title in 2006, alongside Shaquille O’Neal. So, he knew the challenges of winning and the road to repeating the glory were not easy. That’s why Wade recalled, “Yeah, I put my head down, I’m like ‘Oh! He don’t know.'”

That proclamation painted a target on the Heat, and though they reached four straight Finals and won twice, it fell short of James’s seven-title forecast. That’s why when LeBron left the Heat, he was the villain. But Dwyane Wade once again rallied in support of James, suggesting that the statement was not the end-all be-all. “You don’t think about all that, you’re in the moment, you’re thinking about this dynamic, who’s going to stop this dynamic? We amongst our fans, we feeling ourselves and then Bron got a little loose on the on the mic and just he start counting a little extra.”

Although the Heat did not win as many championships as LeBron predicted, they still dominated the league, making four straight trips to the NBA Finals and winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. But do you know, there was a time when D-Wade thought that Big3 wouldn’t be coming together at all?

Dwyane Wade revealed scary times before the infamous decision

Let’s recap a bit and understand the situation a little better. Miami was all in the Big 3 project. The Miami Dade County even renamed it to ‘Miami Wade’ to convince their star player to stay. He not only stayed but brought in LeBron James and Chris Bosh to form the ‘Big 3.’ But just before confirming, King James stopped responding, sending D-Wade into a spiral.

“I was little shocked as LeBron stopped answering his phone after July 4, so, you know, the reason I had to…making sure everything is good because this is a very tough decision.” On the episode of ‘Trophy Room with Candace Parker’, Dwyane Wade shed some light about his being nervous about the Big3. Parker was stunned to hear this and asked Wade, “So you double-texted? Did you triple-text?” Since leaving the home team of Cleveland was a huge moment for LeBron, The Flash did not want to step over his boundaries.

“I ain’t wanna do too much, you know what I’m saying? I’m like, ‘Hey, we still good?’” But it turned out everything was fine, as LeBron was just chilling on South Beach. Then the ‘Heatles’ came together, taking pay cuts. As per Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Dwyane Wade gave up $1.5 million of his annual salary. Meanwhile, LeBron James and Chris Bosh each gave up $1 million. The three superstars first agreed to take $1 million less than the max salary to bring in sharpshooter Mike Miller. He rejected the Knicks’ $60 million offer and joined the Miami team on a $30 million contract.

That’s why Dwyane Wade was a little embarrassed by the speech about the team winning 7 championships. But their time together produced not only titles but iconic moments and a partnership that is still remembered.