The Miami Heat’s Big 3 – Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh – spent four amazing years together before King James returned to Cleveland in 2014. The trio led the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals and two back-to-back championships under Erik Spoelstra. But they got a scare from the Celtics en route to that first ring, leaving James worried the team might get broken up.
Speaking in an Instagram Live session with fans, the four-time NBA MVP admitted he was worried Pat Riley would prematurely dismantle the Big 3 had they been eliminated in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
“My mentality was if we lose, Pat Riley may break us all up. And I (didn’t) want that,” he expressed, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “It might be the quickest breakup in basketball history.”
The Heat went into Game 6 of that series with their backs against the wall, trailing the Celtics 3-2. And James put up one of the best-ever playoff performances of his career, scoring 45 points along with 15 rebounds and five assists to force a Game 7, which the Heat won at home. They would go on to the Finals and defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to be crowned champions.
“Not only might they break it all up,” he continued, “but my legacy is going to take a huge, huge hit if I don’t go out here and perform at an all-time high.”
Fortunately for LeBron and the Heat, that did not turn out to be the case.
