Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban used to subscribe to the notion that Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade was nothing but a gifted prima-donna looking for every opportunity to promote himself.
A lot of that stemmed from the 2006 NBA Finals, where Cuban's notorious sour grapes spilled into the media after Wade took trip after trip to the foul line during the Heat's series victory.
Is Cuban still angry at Wade for what he perceived to be a sense of unwarranted entitlement from Wade?
"Not anymore," Cuban said, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. "At the beginning, I did because I think he thought he was entitled to everything that happened in that (2006) series. But it's been eight years. I mean, I take a little bit of joy in games where he doesn't go to the free throw line. But I like D-Wade now. He's a guy who does a lot of good things off the court and I have to respect that."
"But if you'd have asked me eight years ago, it would have been a different answer," Cuban continued. "There was a time I did a commercial and he was there. He walked out of the room so I wouldn't see him. I walked out a different door so I wouldn't have to talk to him."
Time, and perhaps perspective, have changed Cuban's view of Wade.
"I give him credit off the court," he said. "He's gone from flash to being a good representative of the NBA. I respect that. He seems to be more about family and community. He went through some off-the-court hardships, I guess. But yeah, I have a lot of respect for him now. I think he and LeBron helped each other grow up. I don't hold a lot of animosity at all."
Cuban did add that he's still not the biggest fan of the Heat in general. Some old grudges never die.
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