CHICAGO -- The Miami Heat's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade aren't just inspiring young basketball players with their NBA finals' performances.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said Saturday he was inspired by watching James and Wade combine for 65 points in the Heat's win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA finals. Kane said he hoped to duplicate such a performance when he took the ice in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. The Blackhawks hold a 1-0 series advantage on the Bruins.
"We're playing on different nights, and you can watch and see how players step up in big games in that sport," the 24-year-old Kane said after Saturday's morning skate at the United Center. "You saw it with Game 4 last game. Wade and LeBron had huge games. You see something like that, and you want to do it, too."
Even at the risk of upsetting some Chicago Bulls' fans, Kane hasn't kept it a secret that he's a fan of James. Blackhawks teammate Patrick Sharp joked in March that Kane appeared nervous before they met James prior to a Heat-Bulls game in Chicago.
"Even last year, I was a real big fan of LeBron," Kane said in March. "I felt everyone was hating on him, and he was kind of a guy that I was just waiting for to prove the critics wrong and shut them all up. I guess that's why you maybe take a liking to an athlete. And he's just a physical freak, unbelievable what he's done in his career."
Kane continued to show that support for James prior to the Stanley Cup finals.
"Yeah, I'm rooting for him to win," Kane said of James at Stanley Cup finals media day on Tuesday.
