After the 2013-14 NBA season wrapped up, Miami Heat’s Pat Riley held his annual season-ending news conference. The nearly hour-long interview naturally centered on one key topic: the future of the Heat and their superstar, LeBron James.
Like any team president of a championship contender, The Godfather had long-term plans to keep his team in the title hunt year after year. And to him, it was clear who would spearhead those efforts for the foreseeable future: King James.
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LBJ at a crossroads
In the summer of 2014, no story dominated the NBA landscape more than the next career steps of James, who was heading into his 12th season in the league.
Having joined the Heat under the glare of controversy in July 2010, the stakes were high as The Chosen One faced a critical decision: whether to extend his contract or opt out and become an unrestricted free agent.
While LeBron weighed his options, Pat was already mapping out his own vision for the future.
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It was hard to critique what LBJ had already accomplished in South Beach — leading a star-studded team to four straight Finals appearances and two championships while becoming a back-to-back MVP. Moreover, the basketball phenom was only 29 — still at the peak of his powers. Considering all of that, and more, locking in a long-term partnership was a no-brainer for Riles.
“Those four years we’ve had with LeBron [James], we’re hoping to turn them into eight or 10. We’re not walking around on eggshells anymore,” he said, per ESPN.
What could have been?
It all made sense for James to continue in Florida. However, as often happens, there were underlying factors — one of which was discussed by Riley in his interview.
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Repeatedly, it had been mentioned that the Heat’s core trio — James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — were mentally drained. After everything they’d been through in recent years — and there was a lot — perhaps splitting up their shared power would give them the peace of mind they desperately needed. It was a plausible scenario, one that The Godfather said he understood but didn’t “accept.”
“Maybe they didn’t know how to prepare themselves for four years in the Finals,” the three-time Coach of the Year remarked. “If that’s something as an excuse or to use this as a crutch… I saw that in the team. I saw the mental fatigue at times. I thought we were hitting a stride when we beat Indiana in Game 6 [of the Eastern Conference finals]. I said we’re in a good place. Then we ran into a buzz saw.”
That “buzz saw” was the San Antonio Spurs, who, as fate would have it, would be the last team James faced in a playoff series with the Heat. After all, just days after Pat’s interview, Bron opted out of his contract. On July 1, he officially became an unrestricted free agent and, in a move that shocked many, ultimately returned home to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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While this decision was undoubtedly a game-changer for the NBA’s power structure, it raised the eternal “what if”question. After winning two titles in four seasons with Miami, how much could James have accomplished had he truly committed for several more years, as Riley had envisioned?
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 31, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.