Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals was one of the most triumphant games and moments in Los Angeles Lakers history. They fell behind by 13 early in the fourth quarter at home to their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, and to that point, Kobe Bryant had turned in one of his worst games ever.
But just when it looked like the game would be a disaster, Bryant played very well the rest of the way and his teammates followed his lead, resulting in an 83-79 win and the Lakers’ fifth world championship since 2000.
Miami Heat great Dwyane Wade admitted on the “Skweek Show” that once L.A. had clinched the NBA title, he immediately called LeBron James and looked to form a superteam to combat what Bryant and the Lakers had been doing (h/t Sportskeeda).
“I remember cutting my TV off as soon as Kobe ran and grabbed that ball, I like pffft [remotely turning off the TV]. LeBron? (laughs) … So what you gonna do?
“… That was our summer of free agency. They [Lakers] were dominating. Kobe was winning all these rings. I was like, ‘Hold on, now he got five [championships] and we got one?'”
Just a few weeks later, James and Chris Bosh came to the Heat, and just like that, the NBA’s next great team had taken shape.
The Lakers were aging and getting thin, and they weren’t able to return to the finals as constituted. Miami, on the other hand, would reach the championship series in each of the next four seasons, winning it all in 2012 and 2013, giving Wade three rings and James his first two.
James, of course, would help restore Laker mystique by coming to the team in 2018 and getting it banner No. 17 in 2020. With a strong cast around him, he could end up getting his fifth ring, just like Bryant did, this coming season.