NBA

Dwayne Wade Reportedly Screamed At David Stern Last Night

During the NBA lockout talks in New York City last night, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and NBA Commissioner David Stern reportedly got into a little bit of a spat.

Players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant joined talks this weekend that both sides acknowledged were vital to there being basketball this season. But those talks nearly ended early when Stern began pointing his finger at Wade, according to “a person debriefed on the meeting.” Wade responded thusly:

“Don’t point your finger at me!” the Heat superstar screamed at Stern. “I’m not a child.”

This, though, was our favorite part.

In the exchange, Wade referred to Stern as “David” twice in the exchange, emphasizing the commissioner’s first name.

Yeah, David.

Any time there’s a labor dispute in professional sports — be it football, hockey, basketball, whatever — a common sentiment among players is that they’re being treated like kids by the owners and the league. That’s obviously something that’s going on with these talks, and Wade perceived a condescending tone in some of the things Stern was saying, specifically a spiel/lecture he decided to give the players on the issue of basketball related income (BRI). It boiled over into Wade (who doesn’t exactly strike me as a hothead) getting into it with Stern (who doesn’t exactly strike me as taking kindly to people yelling at him) in what many people are acknowledging was a somewhat shocking confrontation.

After the shouting, and after the players and owners were taken to separate rooms, yesterday’s vital talks were in danger of getting railroaded. Somehow, though, Players Association executive director Billy Hunter calmed down James, Anthony, and Wade, who were threatening to leave, and negotiations continued.

Things better start picking up in these talks, though. If a framework for a possible deal isn’t in place within the next week, it’s entirely possible the NBA cancels its early November regular season games.