[ESPN] As James shines, Wade's spotlight dims

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/16153/as-james-shines-wades-spotlight-dims

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MIAMI – The scene at the Miami Heat’s practice facility on Monday was dripping in metaphor.

There was LeBron James on the Heat’s practice court, fielding questions from a sea of reporters and looking into six TV cameras pointed in his direction. Everyone wanted to know how James felt on this day, how he felt after receiving Sports Illustrated’s 2012 "Sportsman of the Year" award, how he felt about his year of winning.

“LeBron, could you imagine this all these things happening this year -- the championship, regular season MVP, Finals MVP, the Olympic gold medal, capped off by this -- it has to be magical, right?”

“LeBron, public-perception-wise, how does it feel to win this award after everything that happened in July 2010?”

“LeBron, Pat Riley calls you the Boat -- the Best Of All Time -- how does that make you feel?”

In the midst of all of this, there was Dwyane Wade, sitting in a chair off to the side all by himself, about an arm’s length away from James. Wade was slumped over in his practice uniform, glancing at the hardwood floor as he clutched a post-practice bottle of water. Wade sat listening to the media shower his teammate with glowing praise. Wade waited for his turn to speak to the media.

Wade’s patience, however, wore thin. As James talked about his impressive achievements of the past year, Wade rose from his seat and began jumping up and down behind James as if Wade suddenly found a pogo stick. Wade -- a two-time NBA champion, a former Finals MVP and a former NBA scoring champion -- literally was trying to steal the camera spotlight from his teammate.

Wade’s harmless prank was met by soft laughter from the media, but James continued to deliver what felt like a coronation speech. Seeing that James hadn’t been fazed by the antics, Wade returned to his seat and waited for James to finish answering questions.

“LeBron, when you look at the list of ‘Sportsman of the Year’ recipients -- Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe and other great humanitarians -- how does it feel to be included?”

As James answered that question, a shout could be heard from behind the reigning MVP.

“Great list!”

The voice was Wade’s, the guy who received the same award in 2006 and is evidently a proud member of that list. Despite Wade’s playful interjections, James continued to speak undeterred. And the questions kept pouring in about James’ towering accomplishments.

Wade would have to wait his turn, but the 30-year-old's message seemed crystal clear:

Don’t forget about me.

...

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