Was all the smile and laughs of the entire Lebron era in Miami a front? Not quite, but according to D-Wade in a recent interview, it definitely was not as happy as it seemed. He loves Lebron as a brother and their personal relationship is great, but it does sound like Wade wasn’t as happy as he would make the media believe during Bron’s tenure in South Beach. A few different things led to those feelings and Wade was very open about it. Hit the jump.

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Maybe it was the incredible pressure they put on themselves by coming together to try and win championships. Maybe it was the reduced role Wade had to take when Bron came to town. Maybe it is just the feeling of having four long seasons in a row, winding up in the finals each time and the effect it had on Wade’s body. Regardless of what the reason was, Wade was not happy and it speaking on it now:

“It was great, you know, we went to the Finals four years in a row, and it was everything we wanted from that standpoint, but sometimes throughout that run at certain times, it just wasn’t fun,” Wade said. “Individually, it was great having certain relationships, and having my best friend here with me, but all of us didn’t have fun all the time…. I think now I’m at the point where I want to enjoy the game. Because once I’ve won three championships and been so successful, you’ve got to have something to play for. And I want to be able to play for my teammates, and just the joy of the game.”

Why wasn’t it fun?

The outsized attention? The relentless pressure?

“I don’t know,” Wade said. “It’s hard to say, man, because you want it. We wanted it. So it’s hard to say that. You don’t know exactly what’s going to come with it, but we put ourselves in that position. But sometimes you can put too much on yourself, all of us, and it becomes a black cloud around. Last year wasn’t fun. I mean, there was no stretch of it fun. That whole season, to me, it’s amazing we made it to the Finals. It’s just honest. Just this year, coming in, I can see, even the coaches, there’s just a different renewed focus and energy. No one knows what it’s going to lead to. No one knows if that’s going to lead to a Finals win or Finals loss or not the Finals at all. But right now it’s good for everyone to come in every day and want to be here.”

I think, individually, you sacrifice so much of your game, you want to see if you can do some of the things that are called upon you to do, when called upon. It’s not saying, ‘Oh, I’m excited this person left so I can do that.’ It’s more, ‘OK, it’s a challenge,’ and as athletes we not only love challenges, but we need them. Especially if we want to continue to rise. Like I said, I wouldn’t take anything back. Even though there were a lot of moments where everyone wasn’t happy, I wouldn’t take the success back that we had in our four years. It’s just that now, I think it’s great that—everything happens for a reason—and I think right now for this organization and certain individuals that [are[ here, it’s just a good time for it.”

Sports writers and fans alike should love when an athlete speaks this openly and doesn’t always give PC answers and alot of what Wade said actually does make sense. It is clear though he wouldn’t trade the past four years for anything.

BleacherReport via BSO