Former Miami Heat star LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul made some recent comments on the team’s Big 3 era in the early 2010s that appear to have ruffled the feathers of at least one longtime Heat figure.
Controversially, Paul claimed that Miami actually never had a Big 3 and argued that big man Chris Bosh had to sacrifice a whole lot to make those teams click.
Tony Fiorentino — who has spent the last three-plus decades in several roles with the Heat organization from assistant coach to broadcast analyst — seemingly took Paul’s comments as a slight against Bosh and his impact on those great teams in Miami.
He made a post on X expressing just how important Bosh was to the Heat teams that won consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013.
You don’t know basketball if you don’t know how important Chris Bosh was to back-to-back Miami HEAT World Championships! Great HOF player and a HOF person!! https://t.co/QlHdnnHC1I
— TonyFiorentino (@TonyHEAT3xWC) April 18, 2025
For perspective on how Bosh’s role changed in Miami, in his last season prior to joining forces with James and guard Dwyane Wade on the Heat, he averaged 24.0 points per game with the Toronto Raptors. But he never scored more than 18.7 points per contest in any of his four seasons with James and Wade as his teammates.
In a testament to his willingness to adapt for the betterment of the team, he also tinkered with his play style to better complement the likes of Wade and James by working to add a more capable 3-point shot. By the end of the Big 3 era, he was relatively comfortable and confident scoring the ball from deep, as he averaged 2.8 attempted 3s per game in the 2013-14 season.
His 3-point shot truly became a weapon for him in the following seasons, after the Big 3 era had ended. His scoring average also bounced back in those seasons.
It’s true that during the Big 3 era, Bosh didn’t play like the scoring machine that he once was with the Raptors, but he was still named an All-Star in every one of those four seasons and was a top-three player for Miami during the team’s most successful era in franchise history.
For those reasons alone, Bosh should be a universally beloved figure among Heat fans. After all, his jersey has been hanging in the rafters at Kaseya Center for a while now, and his contributions helped the Heat establish themselves as one of the premier organizations in the NBA and all of professional sports.
