LeBron James and Dwyane Wade become rivals in an exhibition game: NBA News
The basketball fans will be able to see their favourite stars in action in Florida, very soon. In one of the most anticipated exhibition games this summer, Miami Heat All-Star LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will come against each
other in a duel by the name of “South Florida All-Star Classic”. In this game, James and Wade will become rivals, as they used to be in the first seven years of their careers.
However, this is going to be a one night appearance by the star players, thanks to the current lockout. Power forward Chris Bosh will also come along with James and Wade, to feature in this game that will be played on Saturday
night at the Florida International. This game will feature nine players that were the part of the previous season’s National Basketball Association All-Star game.
Sharing his views regarding the game, Wade said, "We wanted to do something like this in Miami, so it's our way of connecting with our fans again. We want them to know that we want to play basketball this year."
The players will not take money for playing this game, as the income from this event will go to the selected charities. This also includes FIU coach Isiah Thomas’ charity that was created in the name of her late mother Mary. While
the other proceeds will go to the scholarship fund that will be maintained by FIU for the students, who will one day become the first graduates of their families.
The Basketball Hall of Famer Thomas, who is one of the people that helped organize this game said, "I know I'm going to enjoy the evening. It should be something special to see, special for players, special for fans."
The exhibition game had gathered a lot of attention, because apart from the Heat trio, top scorers of the league like Kevin Durant, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are also expected to take part in this exhibition game. In
addition to the top finishers in scoring, top point guards like, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, John Wall and Chris Paul are also anticipated at the occasion.
The amount of interest in this game can be judged from the fact that roughly 5,000 fans are expected at the event. Moreover, these fans had paid $50 and $100 for their seats, while the organizers had charged $1000 for the courtside
seating. These all were sold-out in less than two hours after the ticket counters were opened for sale. As far as the minor sales were concerned, some tickets were sold above their regular rates.
Besides serving the noble cause of charity and grabbing the public eye because of star players, the event is also providing a good opportunity to the players, who had lost the previous season over injury issues. This list includes
Memphis Grizzlies' Rudy g*y and Dallas Mavericks' Caron Butler. This game has also given a second chance to players like Eddy Curry and Damon Jones to revive their NBA career, as they were not a part of the league last year.
James teams will be comprised of Bosh, Russell Westbrook, Durant, g*y, Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, James Jones, Johnny Flynn and Rajon Rondo. Whereas, Wade will lead Caron Butler, Amare' Stoudemire, Wesley Matthews, Mario Chalmers,
Dorell Wright, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, John Wall and Carmelo Anthony.
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