In the 2010 NBA offseason, the Miami Heat’s iconic Big 3 featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh came together.
The offseason changed the landscape of the league for years to come, and the Heat’s Big 3 era was a major success. The team won two NBA titles during the trio’s four seasons together.
That 2010 offseason certainly didn’t leave everyone happy around the NBA, however. Former Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah recently explained how it all unfolded from his perspective.
“I’m thinking they’re coming to Chicago,” Noah said of James, Wade and Bosh. “Yeah, Chris Bosh basically told me, ‘Yo, I’m coming to Chicago.’ If Chris Bosh came to Chicago, do they go to Miami? Do they stay in Miami? I don’t know. I tried to recruit all of them. I didn’t care if — it didn’t matter. Whatever it took to get the Bulls better, I was doing it. Derrick [Rose] wasn’t doing none of that s—. I was doing all that. So, people don’t know that, but yes, I did try to recruit LeBron. Yes, I did try to recruit D-Wade. And I think that’s what — a lot of the animosity came from that. … Chris straight up told me he was f—— coming to Chicago.”
It’s certainly fascinating to speculate about how the league would have looked had James, Wade and Bosh not teamed up in Miami. If the three players had landed with the Bulls, Chicago likely would have won its first NBA title since the 1990s.
Ultimately, the trio made history with the Heat, winning titles in 2012 and 2013.
The Bulls surely got tired of the Heat during Miami’s Big 3 era. Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs by Miami twice during that four-year stretch.
In the 2011 playoffs, the Bulls lost to the Heat in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2013 playoffs, Miami eliminated Chicago in five games in the second round.
Noah was never able to win a ring during his time in the NBA, but he did put together an impressive career. He earned two All-Star selections and was the Defensive Player of the Year in the 2013-14 season.
The former first-round pick retired with averages of 8.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game to go along with a 49.1 percent shooting clip from the field.
This season, the Heat and Bulls are both looking to contend in the Eastern Conference. Miami is 4-6 so far, and Chicago is 5-6 on the season.