When most people think of Dirk Nowitzki’s overall demeanor, the words “kind”, “loyal”, or “dedicated” may come to mind. Put it this way—he’s the last person you’d expect to have beef with any players.

Perhaps this is the reason that we’re only finding out nine years later that Nowitzki did in fact have some beef—with his 2011 NBA championship opponents, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Considering the fact that Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to an upset victory over them that NBA Finals, this new information has a lot more meaning.

Someone like Nowitzki wouldn’t have allowed his thoughts to get to the surface of the media back then—but after all this time, his former Mavericks teammate JJ Barea has revealed some interesting facts from behind the scenes.

On a podcast with JJ Redick, Barea divulged: “[Nowitzki] was not going to let us lose. The way he prepared the whole year for it. He hated Miami. He hated LeBron, Wade, Bosh. He’s never going to say that, but he couldn’t stand it.”

But apparently there was some extra motivation that got Nowitzki riled up during that series.

“When LeBron and Wade started making fun of him by coughing when he got a little sick … that clip really hurt him,” Barea revealed. “He will never say it, but he really saw the tape and that tape really hurt him. That gave him a little bit extra that he didn’t need, but it gave him a little extra to finish them off.”

The post Dirk Nowitzki Reportedly “Hated Miami” During 2011 NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade gave fans a memorable moment to remember in his final NBA season on Wednesday night.

Wade hit a miraculous three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Heat past the Golden State Warriors in their mid-week matchup at American Airlines Center against the two-time reigning NBA champions.

The 37-year-old came off the bench for the Heat with a spectacular performance. He shot 10-17 from the field and scored 25 points for Miami in only 26 minutes of action.

The most memorable of those 25 points, though, were the three that he recorded as the clock expired.

Wade had his first attempt as time run down blocked, but then he grabbed the ball and banked in a long three-pointer, causing pandemonium at the Heat’s home arena.

Point guard Goran Dragic also turned in a strong performance off of the bench, scoring 26 points.

Despite a magnificent game from Klay Thompson, who made seven three-pointers and scored 36 points, the Warriors just didn’t have quite enough firepower to beat Miami.

The Heat moved to 27-33 with the win, getting closer to the Eastern Conference’s 8th playoff seed.

The post Dwyane Wade Hits Buzzer-Beater to Beat Warriors appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Two NBA’s greats, Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, will be able to add one more All-Star selection to their name as of Friday. Although Wade and Nowitzki didn’t get enough votes to be in the upcoming All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stepped in and added them to the ASG roster.

The draft for All-Star Game will be held next Thursday and will see two captains, LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), making selections for their roster out of the pool of All-Stars. In the first two rounds of the draft, James and Antetokounmpo will choose between the starters and reserves, while in the third round, they’ll get the chance to select either Wade or Nowitzki.

“As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs,” – said Silver in a statement.

Dwyane Wade, who won three NBA titles with Miami Heat, is currently playing his 18^th season in the NBA and has referred to it as his “last dance,” making a decision to retire this year. Despite this, he has been a valuable contributor from Heat’s bench, and currently averages 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Dirk Nowitzki, who was a champion with Dallas Mavericks in 2011, is also expected to retire after the end of the 2018-19. He is playing his 21^st season in the league, and currently averages 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

The post Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki Earn All-Star Selections appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heats’ Dwyane Wade has announced he is returning to the NBA for “one last dance” and then he will retire.

The 2018/19 season will be Wade’s 16^th in the NBA and the final year in what has been a legendary career. Announced through a video, the Chicago native said he given a lot of thought to the decision was happy he was going to do it.

“I’ve always done things my way,” Wade said. “Whether they’ve been good or whether they’ve been bad, I got here because I’ve done things the way that I feel is right for me and right for my family. And what I feel is right. I feel it is right to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, for one last season.”

“This is it. I’ve given this game everything that I have, and I’m happy about that, and I’m going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left.”

When he retires, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP will be the Heats’ most accomplished player. After leading them to their first ever NBA title, Wade went on to set a slew of records. He is the current record holder for the team’s points, assists, games played and steals.

The post Dwyane Wade Will Return to the Heat for One Last Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

While Dwyane Wade considers whether he will retire from professional basketball, he received an offer that is hard to refuse. According to Chinese media, Wade got a three-year, $25 million offer from Zhejiang Golden Bulls to continue his career in China.

In case he was to accept the deal, Wade would be the highest paid basketball player in the country, topping Xinjiang’s Andray Blatche who currently holds that title.

It wouldn’t be strange to see Dwyane Wade play out his career in China, considering he has signed a lifetime deal with Li Ning, a Chinese apparel company. Wade even visited China last month to do a promotional tour.

The 36-year-old previously said that he would take his time this offseason and consider his options before making a final decision about his career.

“Just taking time to think, that’s all I’m doing,” – Wade told ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne back in April. “Taking time to think and looking at every angle and what’s the best situation for me to be in. That’s all. It’s a lot of different, it’s a lot of different things that come into play.“

Dwyane Wade started the last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers but ended up returning to Miami Heat just before the trade deadline. He averaged 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in 67 games he played for Cavs and Heat combined.

The offer from Zhejiang Golden Bulls is undoubtedly more lucrative than the one Heat could give to Wade. Because Miami is over the salary cap, they could only give him the mid-level taxpayer exception that stands around $5.3 million. The question now is whether Wade wants to bow out while still playing at the highest level possible or whether he wants to squeeze a few extra dollars from his basketball skills.

The post Dwyane Wade Has a $25 Million Offer to Play in China appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Take a deep breath if you are a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. The Cavs have used the NBA trade deadline to the max and basically reshaped their roster. The team has entered in a series of bad games since January, dealing with poor defense and locker room issues, so something needed to be done to keep their NBA Finals hopes alive. Still, no one expected so many changes in such a short period of time.

The biggest trade the team has made was one with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavs sent point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Channing Frye and their first-round lottery protected 2018 draft pick to the Lakers in exchange for guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance Jr.

The second trade Cavaliers made was a three-team deal, which also included Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings. The Cavs received guards Rodney Hood and George Hill from the Jazz and Kings respectively. The Kings got Iman Shumpert and a 2020 second-round pick from the Cavs and Joe Johnson from the Jazz. Finally, the Jazz got Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose from Cleveland.

The last trade saw Dwyane Wade heading back to the Miami Heat, with the Cavs getting a heavy protected second-round draft pick.

While there will lots of analyzing of these deals in the upcoming days, when the dust settles, the first impression is that the Cleveland Cavaliers got better with all these trades. Although the team won’t have much time to settle into a rhythm, the Cavs got younger, more athletic and in theory should be better on the defensive end. They got rid of Thomas and Crowder, who performed well below expectations since their arrival from Boston in Kyrie Irving deal. Aso, they have cleared the air in the locker room and could use a fresh start. Finally, the team has shown that they are still ready to surround LeBron James with the tools he needs to make a push for his eight NBA Finals appearance and maybe convince him to stay in Cleveland.

The post Cleveland Cavaliers Reshape Their Roster Trading Away Isaiah Thomas among Others appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Days after he agreed to a contract buyout with the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade has chosen his next destination. According to the ESPN’s NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Wade has decided to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers once he clears waivers on Wednesday. Sources say he will sign a one-year, $2.3 million veterans minimum deal.

Wade and the Bulls struck the buyout agreement on Sunday evening, with Wade leaving $8 to $9 million on the table from the $23.8 million he was set to make. After he became a free agent, multiple teams expressed interest in acquiring his services including his former team the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. After acquiring Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder also became a serious contender and a dark horse in the race for Wade’s signature. Still, the overall consensus was that Wade will probably join forces with LeBron James in Cleveland, which turned out to be true at the end.

James and LeBron already played together from 2010 to 2014 as members of the Miami Heat, winning 2 NBA championships in the process. James himself previously expressed a desire to rejoin with Wade.

“I would love to have D-Wade a part of this team,” James said the press conference held on Monday. “I think he brings another championship pedigree, championship DNA. He brings another playmaker to the team who can get guys involved, can make plays and also has a great basketball mind.“

Wade had one year left on his contract with the Chicago Bulls, but with the team deciding to concentrate on the younger players, buyout became imminent. In his one season with the Bulls, Wade averaged 18.3 points, 3.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Although Wade is past his prime, his experience will surely be valuable for Cleveland on their road to another NBA Finals.

The post Dwyane Wade Set to Sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After just one season with the Bulls, Dwyane Wade is packing his bags and leaving Chicago. It was reported by K.C. Johnson, who covers Chicago Bulls for Chicago Tribune, that Chicago Bulls and Dwayne Wade reached a contract buyout agreement on Sunday night. According to sources, Wade gave up around $9 million out of the $23.8 million he supposed to make in the next season.

The Bulls and Dwyane Wade have reached agreement on a buyout, per sources.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 25, 2017

After the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen while waiving Rajon Rondo it was evident that the team is headed for rebuilding. While Dwayne Wade could have provided valuable mentorship to Bulls’ young squad, it wasn’t the thing he agreed upon when he left Miami Heat. Wade left the Heat after winning 3 NBA championships saying he felt underappreciated by the by Heat’s president Pat Riley. He chose the Bulls because Chicago is his hometown and he was attracted by the possibility of playing alongside Rondo and Butler. The Bulls obviously had other ideas, and they didn’t feel Wade was a good fit for their rebuilding project. Wade on the other hand, surely didn’t want to spend the rest of his career with the team that doesn’t stand any chance to contend for the title.

“I just felt it was time for me, turning 36, that I want to be competing for a championship. I said when I got here, it was always a dream for me to play here. And getting that opportunity was special. And I can’t even say it wasn’t what everyone expected because we went to the playoffs. And trying to restore this franchise to respectability was our goal. The organization decided to go in a different direction, which I respect.” – said Wade in an interview with Chicago Tribune.

Wade also posted a tweet on his profile saying: “A Dream was fulfilled!!! Thank you Chicago!!!”

A Dream was fulfilled!!! Thank you Chicago!!!

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 25, 2017

The post Dwyane Wade and Chicago Bulls Reach Contract Buyout Agreement appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When most people think of Dirk Nowitzki’s overall demeanor, the words “kind”, “loyal”, or “dedicated” may come to mind. Put it this way—he’s the last person you’d expect to have beef with any players.

Perhaps this is the reason that we’re only finding out nine years later that Nowitzki did in fact have some beef—with his 2011 NBA championship opponents, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Considering the fact that Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to an upset victory over them that NBA Finals, this new information has a lot more meaning.

Someone like Nowitzki wouldn’t have allowed his thoughts to get to the surface of the media back then—but after all this time, his former Mavericks teammate JJ Barea has revealed some interesting facts from behind the scenes.

On a podcast with JJ Redick, Barea divulged: “[Nowitzki] was not going to let us lose. The way he prepared the whole year for it. He hated Miami. He hated LeBron, Wade, Bosh. He’s never going to say that, but he couldn’t stand it.”

But apparently there was some extra motivation that got Nowitzki riled up during that series.

“When LeBron and Wade started making fun of him by coughing when he got a little sick … that clip really hurt him,” Barea revealed. “He will never say it, but he really saw the tape and that tape really hurt him. That gave him a little bit extra that he didn’t need, but it gave him a little extra to finish them off.”

The post Dirk Nowitzki Reportedly “Hated Miami” During 2011 NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade gave fans a memorable moment to remember in his final NBA season on Wednesday night.

Wade hit a miraculous three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Heat past the Golden State Warriors in their mid-week matchup at American Airlines Center against the two-time reigning NBA champions.

The 37-year-old came off the bench for the Heat with a spectacular performance. He shot 10-17 from the field and scored 25 points for Miami in only 26 minutes of action.

The most memorable of those 25 points, though, were the three that he recorded as the clock expired.

Wade had his first attempt as time run down blocked, but then he grabbed the ball and banked in a long three-pointer, causing pandemonium at the Heat’s home arena.

Point guard Goran Dragic also turned in a strong performance off of the bench, scoring 26 points.

Despite a magnificent game from Klay Thompson, who made seven three-pointers and scored 36 points, the Warriors just didn’t have quite enough firepower to beat Miami.

The Heat moved to 27-33 with the win, getting closer to the Eastern Conference’s 8th playoff seed.

The post Dwyane Wade Hits Buzzer-Beater to Beat Warriors appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Two NBA’s greats, Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, will be able to add one more All-Star selection to their name as of Friday. Although Wade and Nowitzki didn’t get enough votes to be in the upcoming All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stepped in and added them to the ASG roster.

The draft for All-Star Game will be held next Thursday and will see two captains, LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), making selections for their roster out of the pool of All-Stars. In the first two rounds of the draft, James and Antetokounmpo will choose between the starters and reserves, while in the third round, they’ll get the chance to select either Wade or Nowitzki.

“As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs,” – said Silver in a statement.

Dwyane Wade, who won three NBA titles with Miami Heat, is currently playing his 18^th season in the NBA and has referred to it as his “last dance,” making a decision to retire this year. Despite this, he has been a valuable contributor from Heat’s bench, and currently averages 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Dirk Nowitzki, who was a champion with Dallas Mavericks in 2011, is also expected to retire after the end of the 2018-19. He is playing his 21^st season in the league, and currently averages 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.

The post Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki Earn All-Star Selections appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Miami Heats’ Dwyane Wade has announced he is returning to the NBA for “one last dance” and then he will retire.

The 2018/19 season will be Wade’s 16^th in the NBA and the final year in what has been a legendary career. Announced through a video, the Chicago native said he given a lot of thought to the decision was happy he was going to do it.

“I’ve always done things my way,” Wade said. “Whether they’ve been good or whether they’ve been bad, I got here because I’ve done things the way that I feel is right for me and right for my family. And what I feel is right. I feel it is right to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, for one last season.”

“This is it. I’ve given this game everything that I have, and I’m happy about that, and I’m going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left.”

When he retires, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP will be the Heats’ most accomplished player. After leading them to their first ever NBA title, Wade went on to set a slew of records. He is the current record holder for the team’s points, assists, games played and steals.

The post Dwyane Wade Will Return to the Heat for One Last Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

While Dwyane Wade considers whether he will retire from professional basketball, he received an offer that is hard to refuse. According to Chinese media, Wade got a three-year, $25 million offer from Zhejiang Golden Bulls to continue his career in China.

In case he was to accept the deal, Wade would be the highest paid basketball player in the country, topping Xinjiang’s Andray Blatche who currently holds that title.

It wouldn’t be strange to see Dwyane Wade play out his career in China, considering he has signed a lifetime deal with Li Ning, a Chinese apparel company. Wade even visited China last month to do a promotional tour.

The 36-year-old previously said that he would take his time this offseason and consider his options before making a final decision about his career.

“Just taking time to think, that’s all I’m doing,” – Wade told ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne back in April. “Taking time to think and looking at every angle and what’s the best situation for me to be in. That’s all. It’s a lot of different, it’s a lot of different things that come into play.“

Dwyane Wade started the last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers but ended up returning to Miami Heat just before the trade deadline. He averaged 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in 67 games he played for Cavs and Heat combined.

The offer from Zhejiang Golden Bulls is undoubtedly more lucrative than the one Heat could give to Wade. Because Miami is over the salary cap, they could only give him the mid-level taxpayer exception that stands around $5.3 million. The question now is whether Wade wants to bow out while still playing at the highest level possible or whether he wants to squeeze a few extra dollars from his basketball skills.

The post Dwyane Wade Has a $25 Million Offer to Play in China appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Take a deep breath if you are a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. The Cavs have used the NBA trade deadline to the max and basically reshaped their roster. The team has entered in a series of bad games since January, dealing with poor defense and locker room issues, so something needed to be done to keep their NBA Finals hopes alive. Still, no one expected so many changes in such a short period of time.

The biggest trade the team has made was one with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavs sent point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Channing Frye and their first-round lottery protected 2018 draft pick to the Lakers in exchange for guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance Jr.

The second trade Cavaliers made was a three-team deal, which also included Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings. The Cavs received guards Rodney Hood and George Hill from the Jazz and Kings respectively. The Kings got Iman Shumpert and a 2020 second-round pick from the Cavs and Joe Johnson from the Jazz. Finally, the Jazz got Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose from Cleveland.

The last trade saw Dwyane Wade heading back to the Miami Heat, with the Cavs getting a heavy protected second-round draft pick.

While there will lots of analyzing of these deals in the upcoming days, when the dust settles, the first impression is that the Cleveland Cavaliers got better with all these trades. Although the team won’t have much time to settle into a rhythm, the Cavs got younger, more athletic and in theory should be better on the defensive end. They got rid of Thomas and Crowder, who performed well below expectations since their arrival from Boston in Kyrie Irving deal. Aso, they have cleared the air in the locker room and could use a fresh start. Finally, the team has shown that they are still ready to surround LeBron James with the tools he needs to make a push for his eight NBA Finals appearance and maybe convince him to stay in Cleveland.

The post Cleveland Cavaliers Reshape Their Roster Trading Away Isaiah Thomas among Others appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Days after he agreed to a contract buyout with the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade has chosen his next destination. According to the ESPN’s NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Wade has decided to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers once he clears waivers on Wednesday. Sources say he will sign a one-year, $2.3 million veterans minimum deal.

Wade and the Bulls struck the buyout agreement on Sunday evening, with Wade leaving $8 to $9 million on the table from the $23.8 million he was set to make. After he became a free agent, multiple teams expressed interest in acquiring his services including his former team the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. After acquiring Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder also became a serious contender and a dark horse in the race for Wade’s signature. Still, the overall consensus was that Wade will probably join forces with LeBron James in Cleveland, which turned out to be true at the end.

James and LeBron already played together from 2010 to 2014 as members of the Miami Heat, winning 2 NBA championships in the process. James himself previously expressed a desire to rejoin with Wade.

“I would love to have D-Wade a part of this team,” James said the press conference held on Monday. “I think he brings another championship pedigree, championship DNA. He brings another playmaker to the team who can get guys involved, can make plays and also has a great basketball mind.“

Wade had one year left on his contract with the Chicago Bulls, but with the team deciding to concentrate on the younger players, buyout became imminent. In his one season with the Bulls, Wade averaged 18.3 points, 3.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Although Wade is past his prime, his experience will surely be valuable for Cleveland on their road to another NBA Finals.

The post Dwyane Wade Set to Sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After just one season with the Bulls, Dwyane Wade is packing his bags and leaving Chicago. It was reported by K.C. Johnson, who covers Chicago Bulls for Chicago Tribune, that Chicago Bulls and Dwayne Wade reached a contract buyout agreement on Sunday night. According to sources, Wade gave up around $9 million out of the $23.8 million he supposed to make in the next season.

The Bulls and Dwyane Wade have reached agreement on a buyout, per sources.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 25, 2017

After the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen while waiving Rajon Rondo it was evident that the team is headed for rebuilding. While Dwayne Wade could have provided valuable mentorship to Bulls’ young squad, it wasn’t the thing he agreed upon when he left Miami Heat. Wade left the Heat after winning 3 NBA championships saying he felt underappreciated by the by Heat’s president Pat Riley. He chose the Bulls because Chicago is his hometown and he was attracted by the possibility of playing alongside Rondo and Butler. The Bulls obviously had other ideas, and they didn’t feel Wade was a good fit for their rebuilding project. Wade on the other hand, surely didn’t want to spend the rest of his career with the team that doesn’t stand any chance to contend for the title.

“I just felt it was time for me, turning 36, that I want to be competing for a championship. I said when I got here, it was always a dream for me to play here. And getting that opportunity was special. And I can’t even say it wasn’t what everyone expected because we went to the playoffs. And trying to restore this franchise to respectability was our goal. The organization decided to go in a different direction, which I respect.” – said Wade in an interview with Chicago Tribune.

Wade also posted a tweet on his profile saying: “A Dream was fulfilled!!! Thank you Chicago!!!”

A Dream was fulfilled!!! Thank you Chicago!!!

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 25, 2017

The post Dwyane Wade and Chicago Bulls Reach Contract Buyout Agreement appeared first on SportzBonanza.