The NBA has seen its fair share of “Big 3s.” In the 1980s, the Boston Celtics had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, while the Los Angeles Lakers featured Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Fast forward to the 1990s, and the Chicago Bulls had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. The 2000s had the Boston Celtics’ trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, while the San Antonio Spurs had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
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These were all teams that made their mark in their respective eras. However, none of those trios attracted as much animosity and created more controversy than the Miami Heat’s “Big 3” of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Formed in 2010 when King James and CB spurred their respective squads for the white sand beaches of South Beach and to play alongside their friend and the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, D-Wade recalled that they had already anticipated the backlash from their decision. Yet, none of them expected it would be so intense and all-consuming.
They were unprepared for the fallout
At that time, all three players were already veterans who had played in the NBA for nearly a decade. With their knowledge and experience of how the league worked, they knew their decision to team up wouldn’t be met with open arms. However, they also didn’t realize the full extent of the backlash and criticism that would come their way.
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At the same time, it certainly didn’t help their cause when they predicted a wave of championships would be coming to Miami upon their arrival.
“We didn’t know the media, and the fan base, the hate was going to come the way it did. We definitely didn’t prepare for that,” Wade told Slam Magazine. “We knew it wasn’t going to be the most popular decision, but didn’t know it was going to be the most unpopular decision. We didn’t really prepare for that. And we couldn’t.”
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Before the 2010-11 season, all three were generally beloved around the league. After winning a title in 2006, D-Wade and the Heat struggled to stay afloat, while LeBron had difficulty returning to the NBA Finals after reaching them in 2007. Meanwhile, CB put up All-Star numbers season after season but could not tow the Toronto Raptors past the first round.
However, once all three got together in Miami, they went from being beloved to being hated almost overnight. The decision to team up was heavily criticized, with many accusing them of stacking the deck. The hate came from all corners as the Heat were booed everywhere they went.
“We had to go through all of that in real-time. We all went from being kind of loved — Chris ain’t ruffle no feathers in Toronto, he was quiet. I didn’t ruffle no feathers in Miami, I was quiet. And LeBron was LeBron and loved,” Wade said. “And, so, we get all together, and everyone is like, ‘Hate [it]!’ And you’re like, ‘Wait a minute. Where is this coming from?'”
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Embraced the hate
While nobody from that team would admit to it, all the negativity dented the Heat’s armor, and it showed in the 2011 NBA Finals, when they lost to the underdog Dallas Mavericks. As LeBron seemingly lost his mojo on the NBA’s biggest stage, the rest of the sports world seemingly reveled in it.
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The following season, the Heat returned with more focus and looked more composed. Instead of pushing back against the hate, they seemingly embraced who and what they were and wore the black hat with pride.
“If it makes for people tuning in, watching our games, if it makes for bigger story lines, and it just makes our game better and exciting, we’re fine with that,” Wade stated.
Using the hate and the previous season’s loss as fuel, the Heat went on to win the next two NBA championships, with LeBron being named Finals MVP each time. This proved that sometimes, embracing adversity instead of pushing back against it can lead to even greater success.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.