Although the Miami Heat’s Big 3 era was wildly successful, former NBA player Jalen Rose couldn’t help but wonder how many championships the trio would have won under different circumstances.
Rose recently speculated about what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would have accomplished had they stayed together longer and remained healthy along the way.
“I can’t help to think about the Miami Heat,” Rose said. “Imagine if their Big 3 would have stayed together and healthier longer. You remember the press conference — ‘Not five, not six, not seven’ — and I was believing that. They did win two in four years. LeBron James left, won a championship with the [Cleveland] Cavs and then won another one with the [Los Angeles] Lakers. I know D-Wade dealt with some injuries, but he’s still one of the top shooting guards of all time and won the championship before they arrived with one of the greatest Finals performances of all time. And I know my brother Chris Bosh dealt with some health issues that forced him to retire early, but imagine if none of that would have taken place. How many chips do you think they would have won?”
It’s a valid question from Rose. Unfortunately, it’s one that will never be answered with certainty, as Miami’s Big 3 era is long gone.
As fans know well, the Heat made four straight trips to the NBA Finals thanks to their Big 3, winning championships in 2012 and 2013. The team essentially ran the Eastern Conference in the early 2010s, a reality that remained true until the trio broke up.
The 2013-14 campaign was the Big 3’s final season together. After that, Bosh played two more years before unfortunately having to retire. Wade, meanwhile, remained in the NBA through the 2018-19 season.
Of course, James is still active these days. While he’s sidelined with an injury right now, he’s still an elite player in today’s NBA, and it seems like he still has multiple seasons left in the tank.
This season, Heat fans are likely longing for the days of the Big 3, as folks in South Florida have been frustrated by the Heat’s campaign. While Miami would earn a play-in bid if the regular season ended today, there isn’t a lot of optimism when it comes to the team’s ceiling in the 2023 playoffs.
The organization has angered fans by failing to give its top players enough help, and as a result, the team is in a rocky place.
But Miami’s Big 3 era will live forever in the minds of fans, and in Rose’s eyes, there’s a chance that the Heat would have even more championships today if James, Wade and Bosh stuck together and stayed healthy.