© Bob Donnan/Imagn
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is able to succeed at the age of 40 in the NBA in large part due to his absolutely insane health and fitness routine. But everybody has their vices, even superstar athletes. For James, that vice is apparently chocolate chip cookies. And who could blame him?!
During a recent appearance on the Underground Lounge podcast, former teammate and good friend Dwyane Wade revealed that James would typically board the Miami Heat team plane with two bags. One bag would contain premade meals by his personal chef, while the other contained chocolate chip cookies.
But one day, James went to ask flight staff to bring him his chocolate chip cookies, only to learn that Heat president Pat Riley had the cookies removed from the plane. According to Wade, that was the beginning of the end for James and the Heat.
“It was too much micromanaging at that point,” Wade said (29 minute mark of the above video). “You’re talking about a team who’s (in) four (NBA) finals in a row. You don’t need to micromanage us. And I felt that Riles went a little too far with his micromanaging at points like that. He’s a grown man, you don’t take the cookies away from us.”
Wade explained that it may seem small, but little things are what make a season that could last over 100 games more manageable.
Interestingly enough, Wade’s comments come shortly after fellow Miami Heat legend Tim Hardaway also criticized Riley for the way he handles star players. Hardaway claimed that Riley empowered star player Jimmy Butler so much so that Butler then had all the leverage when he eventually requested a trade.
Riley, 79, is an NBA legend. He had nine championships between his time as a player, coach and executive. But it feels as if the tide is turning in Miami, and it may just be the end of the road for one of the NBA’s most-revered executives.