The Miami Heat have been to the NBA Finals twice this decade. However, they haven’t been able to get the deed done since 2013. In what was considered their Big 3 Era, the Heat were led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, who had decided to join forces in 2010.
Well, technically, the plans began long before then.
Carmelo reveals how he & LeBron almost teamed up in Chicago before the Miami Big 3 formed.
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Looking for his first NBA Finals win, James had approached his future teammates about a potential partnership. Carmelo Anthony was in the fold as well.
Nonetheless, Miami’s Big 3 Era was relatively short-lived, ending after just four seasons. Making an appearance on The OGs Show with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Heat president Pat Riley opened up about his inability to keep that core together.
Pat Riley on trying to keep the big 3 together in Miami
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“I think it was a five or six championship team,” he admits.
Heat President Saw Michael Jordan Future For LeBron James
James, Wade, and Bosh’s four seasons together were among the most fascinating episodes in NBA history.
In James, the Heat had a player who was competing for Michael Jordan’s crown as the consensus pick for the greatest player of all-time. When Bosh left the Toronto Raptors, ge was widely considered to be one of the best players in the league. Wade led Miami to a championship in 2006, his third career season.
There have been other ‘superteams’ before though. In fact, while the Heat’s constellation of stars stood out more than others, there were at least four that preceded theirs.
The Three-Peaters
Jordan starred alongside fellow Hall of Fame inductee Scottie Pippen. Both won three championships alongside Dennis Rodman, another Hall of Famer, in the late 1990s. After Jordan’s reign, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had their own three-peat, two of which were won with three-time All-Star selection Glen Rice.
The San Antonio Spurs
The early 2000s were dominated by the San Antonio Spurs. They aren’t often considered a superteam as Tony Parker nor Manu Ginobli are thought of as world-class players by the average fan. However, Parker was a six-time All-Star and Ginobli was a two-time All-Star and perennial Sixth Man of the Year finalist. Of course, Tim Duncan wound up with 15 All-Star selections, nearly twice as many as Parker and Ginobli combined.
LeBron James’s Inspiration?
The Boston Celtics won a championship in 2008 while led by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Not only are they all Hall of Famers, they were each the face of the franchise. In fact, their individual and collective success may have given James the idea of cliquing up with other stars.
Expecting The Unexpected
All of that being said, the expectations that the Heat were met with were a byproduct of the talent they amassed, the media circus that followed, and their own words. Who can forget James’s braggadocio when he said their Big 3 would win “…not five, not six, not seven” championships together with Riley sitting in the crowd?
When James said that, he probably did believe it. However, he also underestimated the importance of depth and chemistry, which proved to be their Achilles heels in his first season with the Heat. It also became evident that James’s biggest obstacle was mental, which may have impacted his ability to go on a Jordan-esque run in Miami.
The next season, James embraced both his leadership and a villain role, putting together his best season yet. Indeed, in 2011-12 and 2012-13, he was the most complete player in the NBA. Frankly, there might not have ever been a better individual performance in terms of skill, production, and versatility. Winning back-to-back championships, including what was his first ring, was just icing on the cake.
After that the wheels came off for the Heat. The hydraulics in Wade’s knees were shot, making him a lowrider. For years, people considered the possibility that his hard falls would eventually have an impact. However, while he eventually changed his approach, it was too little and too late.
His rapid athletic decline undoubtedly contributed to James’s decision to leave Miami in 2014. Of course, Bosh may have been able to step up and become James’s second-in-command. Yet, he was frequently injured, making that a less attractive option.
Different Path, Same Destination
In the end, he decided to head back to the Cavs. There, he teamed up with Kyrie Irving, whose skillset and mentality actually complemented his quite well. He also rescued Kevin Love, then arguably the best power forward in the league, from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In 2016, he won a title with Cleveland.
The manner and circumstances in which he accomplished this may have done as much to keep him in the conversation with Jordan as winning more rings with the Heat. Leading the first 3-1 NBA Finals comeback in NBA history, he and the Cavs took down the Golden State Warriors, who had went 73-9 in the regular season. It was their first championship in franchise history.
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