When NBA icon Kobe Bryant won his fifth ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade seemingly knew he had to do something.
According to Wade himself, L.A.’s championship that year motivated the Marquette University product to pick up the phone and call LeBron James, with Wade anxious to know about the forward’s future plans.
Weeks later, James joined the Heat.
Dwyane Wade says he called LeBron James after Kobe won ring #5
"LeBron, so what you gonna do?"
"Kobe winning all these rings, now he got 5.."(h/t @clickthatfollow )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 25, 2023
The Heat also added Chris Bosh to the mix in the 2010 offseason, giving them a lethal trio of superstar players.
Across four seasons together, James, Wade and Bosh took the Heat to the NBA Finals four times and won it all twice. Their championships as a trio came in 2012 and 2013, giving Miami’s 2006 NBA title some company.
Bryant didn’t win another ring after the formation of the Heat’s Big 3, but there are no guarantees that Miami was directly responsible for that. Since Bryant didn’t make the NBA Finals again after 2010, it’s hard to point to the Heat — an Eastern Conference foe — as a key reason why L.A. wasn’t able to win the Western Conference during that stretch.
Even though Bryant didn’t win any more titles after 2010, he finished his career with a fantastic resume. He retired with five championships, two Finals MVPs, one league MVP, 18 All-Star selections and two scoring titles — among countless other accolades.
James is the only member of the Heat’s iconic Big 3 who’s still active today. Wade and Bosh are both retired and have already entered the Hall of Fame. At some point in the future, James will join them there.
The three players will likely always be remembered as one of the most unstoppable trios in NBA history. Interestingly enough, the Heat are currently looking to create another Big 3 of sorts, with the organization in the mix to acquire star guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard, along with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, would give the Heat more than enough talent to contend for another championship as the organization looks to win its first since 2013. But with the 2023-24 campaign rapidly approaching, fans are anxiously waiting to see if Lillard will indeed land in South Florida before the season opens.
