Ranking the 12 best players that LeBron James has played with

LeBron Teammate #1: Dwyane Wade

In the summer of 2010, Wade managed to lure LeBron away from Cleveland down to South Beach, along with Bosh. At the time, Wade was one of the five or 10 best players in the NBA, and the thought of him and LeBron, who was the best player in the league, pairing up seemed unfair.

Four straight Finals appearances would seem to prove that it was. Even then, the Heat’s Big 3 lost their first Finals together to the Dallas Mavericks, with LeBron disappearing in the series. Despite that, had it not been for Wade averaging 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, Miami wouldn’t have even been competitive.

That carried over to the next season when Wade helped lead the Heat to a return trip to the Finals. There, they managed to beat an up-and-coming Thunder team that features three future MVPs. That was no easy feat, and while LeBron was rewarded with the Finals MVP, Wade was nearly as good during that series.

During the 2012-13 season, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh carried the Heat to one of the best regular season records in NBA history, going 66-16, including winning 27 straight games. However, in the Finals, the Heat were largely outplayed by the Spurs. Though, thanks to Allen, Miami managed to force a Game 7, where Wade and LeBron helped clinch the team’s second straight championship.

Wade wasn’t quite at the same level of player during and after that postseason run, and it carried over to the 2013-14 season, where he missed a significant amount of time due to knee issues. That came back to bite them in a rematch of the 2013 Finals against the Spurs. Wade could no longer score at will as he had during his prime, and Miami couldn’t stop San Antonio’s offensive attack.

They ended up losing five games, and LeBron left to return to Cleveland. Wade would eventually join him there, but he was a role player at that point. Still, he helped LeBron make four straight NBA finals and win back-to-back championships, thus making him LeBron’s best
teammate.