LONDON â€" Dwyane Wade knows his close friends Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.
By Gary A. Vasquez,, US Presswire
Chris Paul and LeBron James have joined with Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony as key players for Team USA since the 2006 world championships.
By Gary A. Vasquez,, US Presswire
Chris Paul and LeBron James have joined with Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony as key players for Team USA since the 2006 world championships.
"CP (Paul) is the more serious one out of all of us," Wade says. "He's more the captain. He's the point guard. He's the leader. … He's got that thing with the little-man complex as well."
Anthony? " 'Melo is like that big brother you'd like to be like. He's just cool. His name speaks for itself," Wade says.
And James? " 'Bron is as silly as it gets," Wade says. "Obviously, when he's around us, he can let loose and be himself and not worry about being judged because he has to deal with a lot more than the rest of us have to deal with."
Wade knows himself, too. "I'm a combination of all of it," he says. "I'm silly. I can be serious because I'm the oldest one. I can be cool and do my own thing as well."
The four friends have been an integral part of USA Basketball's men's national team renaissance since 2006, after the disappointing third-place finish in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Wade isn't playing in the London Games â€" the 2-0 U.S. squad plays Nigeria on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. ET â€" because he opted to have surgery on his left knee after the NBA Finals to alleviate discomfort.
"Obviously, I wish I could be there and playing," Wade said. "Those are my guys. This probably would have been my last hurrah. I wanted to do it again."
Instead, Wade, who won gold in 2008, is scheduled to arrive in London next week.
The friendship began a decade ago when they began playing against each other either in summer camps or AAU games. James, Anthony and Wade were the Nos. 1, 3 and 5 picks in the 2003 draft, respectively. Paul was the fourth pick in the 2005 draft.
"Me and LeBron, we've been together since high school. D-Wade was right there, too. We go way back," Anthony said. "With Chris Paul, we brought him along. Each day, we became closer."
The summer schedule for elite high school players has created an environment in which players become friends before they become rivals. It's difficult to imagine Larry Bird and Magic Johnson being such close friends in the 1980s.
"Obviously, it's a different day and age," Paul said. "You have to build relationships with guys because you're together all summer."
But Paul said the friendships didn't interfere with their competitive fire.
"When we step on the court, we're always about to fight," Paul said.
In a way, these friendships have actually made the USA a more cohesive team. The chemistry has developed much faster because of the friendships. It's easier to play on a team with guys you know and like.
Even though James just beat Olympic teammates Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, there are enough friendly connections to make it work.
Durant and James worked out together during last year's lockout, and Durant can bridge relations between James and the other two Thunder players.
USA Basketball had to cobble together the 2004 team, assembling a hodgepodge of young players and veterans who didn't mesh. Anthony, James and Wade were too young to be on a team that didn't send its best players.
Starting with USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo's desire to build a sustainable program, the friendship among James, Wade, Anthony and Paul flourished in 2006 during a month-long trip for the world championships. They went to Las Vegas, China and South Korea.
"We really had a chance to spend a lot of time together," Wade says. "You know who you gravitate to. You know who it is that you want to be around, the people who make you feel good and challenge you at the same time. It was all of us, and we just kept coming back to each other."
Says James: "We love the game of basketball and just enjoy being around each other. We share some of the same qualities, and we've just built friendships."
Who's the funniest?
"It depends on who you ask," Anthony said.
It isn't easy for the players to see each other during the regular season except when the play against other. They stay in contact the way friends do: texts, e-mails, phone calls.
That's one reason they embrace the Olympics: They spend quality time together at practice, on bus rides, at their hotel and at other Olympic events.
As they've gotten older and had children, they became "uncles to each other's kids," James says.
Who wouldn't want an Uncle 'Melo stopping by?
"The kids love to be around each other," Paul says. "It's special for my son (Chris Jr.). He's 3. He'll pick up the phone and act like he's talking to LeBron's or 'Melo's kids."
When Paul learned Wade was unable to play in the Olympics, he called Wade and said, 'I don't like that. I wish you were playing. You're our brother.' "
"He was serious," Wade says.
So Wade is headed to London with his sons, Zaire and Zion.
"I can't wait go to be around those guys and share those moments before they hit the court," Wade says. "Even though I'm not playing, we still want to come to London and enjoy the experience of the USA team."
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