May 23, 2023 • 43 mins
Welcome to Four Years of Heat, the limited podcast series that goes inside the four years LeBron James spent with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh playing for the Miami Heat from 2010-14.
In Episode 1, host Israel Gutierrez, who grew up in South Florida and covered the Heat during the time for the Miami Herald and ESPN, traces the elements that brought LeBron from Cleveland to "South Beach." From the state of the Heat franchise with perspective from Dan Le Batard and Udonis Haslem, to LeBron's Olympic friendship with Wade and Bosh, to a behind the scenes interview with Jim Gray about "The Decision," to the inside story of the "Welcome Party" that went too far from reporters that were in the building.
Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
I was in Orlando before Miami, and I came straight
to Miami. And I've been here for like twenty nine
thirty years, and Miami raised me. And Miami is what
I flag, that I wave and that I breathe, and
I believe everything is Miami.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
You know, Miami, We just different. You know what I'm saying,
Like we special, We confident, and you know what I mean,
this would love.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
We don't see.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Nobody me And he asked in like, we Miami.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
That In case you didn't recognize, the voice was famed DJ,
record producer, record executive, rapper and Miami Heat superfan DJ Khaled.
Speaker 6 (00:53):
Why start a podcast about.
Speaker 5 (00:54):
One of the more intriguing teams in NBA history with
a musical artist raving about the city.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
Well, first of all, why not?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
There'll be plenty more of that unmistakable voice throughout by
the way. Second, because this Heat team's story wasn't just
about high profile teammates getting together to reach an extremely
lofty goal. It had the secondary effect of elevating a
franchise and an entire city.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
Along the way.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
There might be some of you listening right now who
only learned of Kalid because of that Heat fandom. There
are definitely some of you listening who only know who
I am largely because of that Miami Heat team. I'm
your host, Israel Gutierrez, and I, like Khaled, was raised
by Miami. I've lived here since I was two years old,
(01:43):
growing up a fan of all the local teams, which
started with only the Dolphins but then eventually expanded to
the Heat, Panthers, and Marlins. I became a journalist after
graduating from the University of Florida and fortunately never had
to leave South Florida. When I began my professional career
in two thousand, the same teams I grew up watching
and cheering for I suddenly had to cover as an
(02:04):
objective journalist. By twenty ten, I'd covered the Heat as
a beat writer for seven years and had been a
columnist at the Miami Herald for three. That's ten years
as a professional to tag onto another decade of just
being a Miami fan, and nothing, absolutely nothing could have
prepared me or any Miami native, frankly, for what was
(02:28):
on the way. It's the start of twenty ten, and
Miami was about to host its tenth Super Bowl and
second in four years. Miami as a city was comfortable
being at the center of the sports landscape, but mostly
as a host to outside teams and their fans, Fans
looking to get kissed by the sun and possibly experience
(02:48):
a twenty four hour nightclub in between cheering on their teams.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Rare was the occasion.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Where Miami's own sports would garner the type of attention
that caught the nation's eye for any length of time,
and in twenty ten, Miami was in one of those
sleepy sports cycles where there wasn't much to look at.
The Florida Panthers were in the midst of their ninth
straight season missing the playoffs. The Florida Marlins were only
seven years removed from a second World Series in team history,
(03:15):
but were about to start a seventh straight season without
reaching the postseason again. And the Miami Dolphins were in
the second year of a seven year stretch with no playoffs.
Then there were the Miami Heat. The Heat had won
(03:35):
the championship in two thousand and six in the second
season after Shaquille O'Neill blessed the town with championship legitimacy,
and in the third season of now superstar Dwayne Wade,
who the Heat drafted in two thousand and three, But
that flash of sports supremacy faded quickly as Shak's relationship
with the organization deteriorated, and he was traded to Phoenix
(03:56):
in two thousand and eight after only three plus seasons
with the Heat. In the few years that followed their championship,
Wade had won a scoring title in two thousand and
nine and was third in MVP voting. He was matching
or surpassing the best players in the league with his performances,
but he also happened to play the same shooting guard
position as Kobe Bryant, the Lakers legend who had won
(04:16):
four titles that would win his fifth in twenty ten.
Even as Wade was leading the eight Olympic team in scoring,
it was Kobe who received most of the adoration and
all of the starting nods for the gold medal winning
Redeem team. What the Miami Heat organization did over the
next four years to maximize their success with Wade, who
was still in his prime, was simply builled one of
(04:38):
the most dynamic, controversial, explosive, exciting, successful, and unforgettable teams
in sports history. Teaming with Wade would be Lebron James,
the game's best player, and Chris Bosh, another highly skilled
All Star with championship aspirations.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
It was a joining of forces so.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Surprising it was difficult to believe it even as it
was happening. It was a team so immediately rich with
high end talent and even more pressurized expectations, it would
almost be impossible to sustain for any extended length of time.
This wasn't just about an organization cashing in while it
could for some additional gold trophies. It was now about
(05:20):
a responsibility to the game of basketball to make sure
this worked. To make sure Lebron, a player who many
already predicted could rival the greatest of all time, would
finally break through and start his run toward basketball immortality
that only can truly begin with an NBA championship, to
make sure Wade and Bosh cement their Hall of Fame
(05:42):
careers with multiple rings. It was a team that, if
it worked, would revive a city and more importantly, empower
and encourage other players to take more control of their
careers and change the NBA forever. And little did anyone
really know at the time, but Miami would have a
limited amount of time to complete all of that.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Four years of.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Heat and yes, I said the name of the podcast,
four years of a team that ran so hot it
probably couldn't last much longer than it actually did. Dan
Lebttard has been writing and talking about sports in his
hometown of Miami for portions.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Of four decades.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
He's attended the University of Miami. He's written for the
Miami Herald, written and worked on television and radio for ESPN,
and currently is running his own media company, meatal Ark Media,
highlighted by its signature podcast, The Dan Lebotard Show with
Stu Goatts. There might not be a better person to
paint the picture of the Miami sports landscape than Lebtard.
(06:46):
The Heat had experienced the most consistent success of the
pro sports teams in town, but not enough to stand
out amongst more established winners.
Speaker 7 (06:55):
Miami had established itself as a town that had at
Riley and before Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and
so there had been some winning, but basketball was not
dominating this town. Even in failure, which the Dolphins had
(07:15):
plenty of, the Dolphins were still the thing in the
town and the star power of the team. The furthest
it went was Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Those were
the successful teams, the ones that would always die at
Michael Jordan's doorstep. It wasn't a champion, It was largely
a regional team, not a national one, and locally, this
(07:38):
was absolutely not a basketball town. Liked basketball, but basketball
probably was behind baseball and football.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Back then, Wade had known the ultimate success, both as
an individual and with his team, but in his seventh
NBA season, he'd been chasing that championship feeling again for
a few years now. A seven game first round series
lost to the Atlanta Hawks and nine was nice, but
nowhere near the thrill he'd get from facing those Detroit
(08:08):
Pistons teams deep into the playoffs just a few years prior.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
Shot Cock is off.
Speaker 9 (08:13):
We'll dribble it out.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
For the first time in franchise history.
Speaker 10 (08:19):
The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Wade knew what basketball at its highest level felt like.
He wanted that again, and there was one game in
particular in twenty ten, in the middle of a season
that was far short of special from Miami that reminded
him of what that felt like and maybe even gave
us a glimpse of what kind of basketball wizardry was
headed toward the three to zero five. It was a
(08:46):
game between the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers and what was
then still called American Airlines Arena, and it featured a
matchup of redeemed team pals Wade and Lebron James.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I still talk about that game today when people asked me, like,
what was your favorite kind of game in the NBA?
Speaker 5 (09:02):
That's all Mario Vernard Chalmers. You might just know him
as Mario Chalmers, a collegiate champion at Kansas who was
in his second year in the league in twenty ten
and started about a quarter of the Heats games at
point guard.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
And that was like the one time I felt myself
as a player being in the moment and I'll just
want to watch, like I don't I don't want to
do anything but watch Lebron go this way, d Wade
go that way. And that's what I was just like, Wow,
He's like, this is what it takes to be a
superstar league. This is why these guys are stars, And
like I was really starstruck in that moment in the.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Game That game was on January twenty fifth, twenty ten.
Wade in the Heat were in the middle of a
forty seven wins season that would earn them the fifth
seed in the playoffs, while Lebron was in the midst
of his second straight MVP season on a Cabs team
that would lead the league with sixty one wins. There
wasn't quite love in the air that night, but there
wasn't nearly as much venom for an opponent as usual.
(09:55):
In fact, it would be Lebron's last visit to Miami
before his free agency that offseason, so the fans were
a little extra friendly to help court the King a
few months early, bringing signs that would hope to get
his attention. A few of the signs looked professionally executed,
with the most memorable one being a fake Facebook page
with Lebron's status as in the relationship with the Miami Heat.
(10:20):
A little more than halfway through the second quarter, Wade
and James put on a back and forth duel.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
That builds legends.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
This was the jaw dropping stretch of game Chalmers was
talking about. James and Wade already had a few moments
in this showcase of stars but with five eleven left
in the first half, Lebron unknowingly started the memorable exchange
by dunking on Wade and.
Speaker 11 (10:43):
Another steal this hoop by Paris show here comes James again.
The freak trainers left the state to exports for the
term of foul on Twainne Wade.
Speaker 10 (10:51):
Oh my Wade was float.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
He was going up for a light up.
Speaker 11 (10:55):
Lebron dunked the ball, Wade jumped up with two hands
trying to block it.
Speaker 10 (11:00):
He gets the foul.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
What a move by Lebron.
Speaker 11 (11:02):
James, giving the Cavaliers their first lead of the game,
a nineteen to four run, and the explosion by James.
Speaker 12 (11:10):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
Wade never took well to being on the wrong end
of a highlight play, so the very next play he
drew foul and hit two free throws.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
After that, a pair of.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Lebron free throws, and then two of the most dynamic
athletes in the game decided to put on a shooting
display that gave this regular season game an all star field.
Speaker 11 (11:33):
Oh baby, three point offul way that he got bowled.
Oh James answers back with a free ball, and with
these two guys, it's anything you can do. I can
do better. It's on a game, coach, and it started early.
Wade with twenty three, James with sixteen. Here he goes again.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Oh man, the crowd trying to egg on Dwayne Wade
just should come back again.
Speaker 11 (11:58):
Now Here it comes, Wade colliding with Vanish out one
of the great individual shows you will ever see. It's
an instant classic shot clock at six Wade against Parker.
There's a three, and there's your third baby. Oh man,
(12:20):
who Dwayne Wade's best scoring half of the year, thirty?
Here he goes three on the way and what else
would you expect? What else would you expect from Lebron
James their way from the backcourt.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
Oh man, don't take your eye off this game.
Speaker 11 (12:39):
Wade and James sheer smile and how could you not
enjoy it?
Speaker 13 (12:44):
Right along with.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Him, Wade literally skipped off the floor on his way
to the halftime locker room after sharing a glance and
a smile with Lebron. That high level of basketball he'd
been so familiar with was back on that Monday night
in Miami, and his friend Lebron providing all the counterpunches
made him feel alive again.
Speaker 14 (13:04):
You know, their competition is great at then they you know,
we understand it's a team game, you know, and I
think second hand I proved there. But you know, it's
moments within the game where you know, you take on
the competition of it. You know, it's it's it's a
little bit of anything you can do, I can do better,
you know, count of competition for a little while, and
it's fun for the fans. And you know, long as
we're not doing anything outside of what our team wants
(13:26):
to do, it's good for our team. So, you know,
probably one of the best second quarters that I've had,
and you know, just back and forth was good.
Speaker 11 (13:36):
Four point one seconds left of the fourth quarter, Miami
trailing ninety two to ninety one. He will have Clinton
Richardson in bound. He's got Jermaine o'nial all stood Wade
at Haslam and here we go. Wade catches it guarded
by James for the win, Miami's fifth one point game
(14:00):
and their second one point loss.
Speaker 5 (14:02):
Wade in the home crowd left slightly disappointed, but feeling
like they'd made their point to one Lebron James.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Fast forward to the end of that season. The Heat
had just.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Been knocked out of the playoffs as the number five
seed by the fourth seeded Boston Celtics. It was the
second consecutive first round exit from Miami, and this one
didn't even include the seven game drama that the previous
year series against Atlanta managed. In five games, Wade had
just averaged thirty three point two points on fifty six
percent shooting, including forty percent from three, with six point
(14:39):
eight assists five point six rebounds, but could manage only
one win in the series against the Celtics. On the
postgame podium in a makeshift press conference in the bowels
of Boston's TD Garden, Wade made a declaration so confident
it had some wondering if that was more than just
a superstar believing in himself.
Speaker 14 (14:59):
H Like I said before the playoffs started, this this
playoff run and drive, I had no indication on my decision.
I'm going for Well, this will be my last first
round exit for a while, I'll tell you that. So
I'm looking forward to, you know, continue to build and
being with some great players next year.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Tim Reynolds has been covering the Miami Heat since the
two thousand and two oh three season, the last before
Wade was drafted. By this point, he'd grown close enough
to Wade to know there was extra meaning behind that statement.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
When Dames staffer at the podium in Boston and said that,
I'm like, hmm, okay, there's something to it.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Two rounds later, there was another disappointed superstar sending signals.
The Celtics had just knocked Lebron James out of the
playoffs in six games. James was playing through a bulky
elbow and ended the deciding Game six with twenty seven points,
nineteen rebounds, ten assists, and nine turnos, but.
Speaker 6 (16:00):
Boston Selfix were the huge upset. They advanced to the conference.
Speaker 10 (16:04):
Finals, and Lebron james season is over?
Speaker 6 (16:09):
Is his career in Cleveland over?
Speaker 5 (16:13):
As he walked off the floor and into the tunnel
leading to the Cavs locker room, James took off his
Cavalier's jersey, and once he entered the locker room, casually
flipped it to an attendant.
Speaker 11 (16:24):
Cleveland fans wondering if that's the last time he'll take
off a Cavalier jersey?
Speaker 6 (16:29):
What did it mean? Everyone wanted to know.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
In less than two months time, Lebron would be an
unrestricted free agent for the first time. Following seven years
in Cleveland, his adopted city after growing up in nearby Akron, Ohio,
James would have to make the most difficult decision of
his professional career, the answer to the.
Speaker 15 (16:48):
Question everybody wants to know, Lebron, What's your decision?
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Jim Gray is a media sports legend.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
He's interviewed icons of sports like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan,
Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Kobe.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Bryant, and Mike Tyson.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Once famously, with a broken back spinal, he wrote a
book called Talking to Goats, The Moments You Remember and
the Stories You Never Heard, and among the subjects was Lebron.
James Gray had known Lebron from his days covering him
in high school to his early NBA days. Gray would
also fly to Lebron's hometown of Akron, Ohio to cover
(17:35):
the annual PGA Firestone Golf Tournament, where he would also
visit with Maverick Carter, Lebron's longtime friend and business manager
since two thousand and six, and other associates of Lebron,
including the other founders of their agency and sports marketing firm,
lrimr Rich Paul and Randy Mims. Of all the interviews
Gray has completed in his career. He would have one
(17:57):
nationally televised event with Lebron that would become one of
his most controversial. James chose to air his free agency
decision live on ESPN the evening of July eighth, twenty ten,
in the form of a one hour special. The Decision,
as the show was called, peaked at more than thirteen
million viewers. As Lebron would announce his choice. About halfway
(18:20):
into the special, I talked with Jim about how that
option came about and whether or not he thought that
interview would set in motion such a wave of hatred
toward the best basketball player in the game. It began
with a conversation at an NBA Finals game in Los
Angeles in twenty ten between Gray and Carter.
Speaker 12 (18:40):
I just saw Maverick Carter that evening of a playoff
game sitting with Ari Emmanuel, who was the head of
William Morris Endeavor, And they were sitting in Ari's front
row seats and the Lakers were playing, and I walked
down and saw him at halftime and shook his hand,
and I said, Hey, Mav, would it be possible to
(19:01):
do the first interview with Lebron after he chooses his team,
and he said, I would consider that, And then it
just out of nowhere, I kind of said, and you know,
perhaps we should just do an hour special and have
him announce it on the air. What's the difference between
that in a press conference? You know, let him make
his own announcement. And Ari said, that's a brilliant idea,
(19:24):
and Mavericks said, right then, he said, you know, we
could probably raise a bunch of money for charity.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
For full context, the idea of Lebron announcing his decision
in that public a manner was mentioned in a mail
bag column by noted Boston sports fan Bill Simmons. A
reader named Drew Wagner was inspired by high school recruits
announcing their college choices live on television and recommended a
live show on ABC called Lebron's Choice. But it wouldn't
(19:52):
be Simmons who executed the plan. Gray brought it up
to Carter at that Finals game, and Carter convinced Lebron
to do it, while the Manual pitched the idea to
then ESPN president John Skipper.
Speaker 12 (20:05):
We had an opportunity to possibly put it on NBC
because I had worked at NBC on the NBA for
a long time, and Maverick ultimately felt that it should
be with one of the NBA carriers ESPN, ABC or Turner,
and that was fine, and so they eventually worked something
(20:25):
out with ESPN and with John Skipper to take over
the time, and we raised six and a half million
dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and
it's still, i believe, to this day, the largest contribution
that has ever been made to that organization and has
(20:46):
helped the lives of countless, hundreds of thousands of kids.
Skipper was very young ho because he knew the amount
of attention that this was going to garner and he
was one hundred percent behind that because it represented the
largest audience they'd ever had for a television show, not
for a live event, for a television show, which which
(21:08):
I believe still holds up to this day, for a show,
you know, not to be confused with a Monday night
football game or perhaps an NBA you know, playoff game
or something of that ill, but for a one off
show for that hour.
Speaker 16 (21:24):
You know, he knew just how much people would watch.
Speaker 12 (21:28):
It, and he knew, you know, that it would be
it would be must see TV.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
ESPN assigned Gray a producer he was familiar with, and
they went over Gray's interview, questions and plans for the show.
The next day, Gray met with Lebron and his associates
for some promotional photos and then drove from a nearby
home to the Boys and Girls Club in Gretich, Connecticut.
With them was Lebron's then girlfriend and now wife, Savannah Brinson.
Gray said the ride was largely quiet, in part because
(21:56):
he himself asked not to know what team Lebron was
choosing ahead of time.
Speaker 12 (22:00):
I did not want to know what his decision was.
I intentionally told Maverick, told Lebron and told Leon Rose,
do not tell me because I didn't want to know.
Speaker 16 (22:11):
I wanted it to be real, at least from my end.
Speaker 12 (22:14):
And I also didn't want to be the one who
accidentally blurts this out, because anything can happen. You know,
somebody's talking to your So I just didn't want to know.
I wanted to know when the audience knew.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Quick pause, we already know.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
There's no way to truly have predicted how negative the
response was to Lebron airing this decision. The purity of
the idea raising millions for the Boys and Girls Club
of America while announcing information everyone is dying to know.
It's really hard to dispute. How could anyone truly see
the level of vitriol that would follow such a selfless
(22:48):
act of charity. Well, a few folks did. Jackie McMullen
was one. Jackie is a now retired NBA writer who
worked for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and ESPN, among
other media outlets along the way. She not only saw
that an hour special for a ten second announcement seemed
like ego inflated overkill, but she called the move unfathomable
(23:11):
on ESPN News the night before the decision.
Speaker 17 (23:14):
I was actually in Bristol, Connecticut for a couple of
days in advance of the decision, and I remember going
on the air I think it was live, and saying,
don't do this. The self importance of thinking that your
decision is more important than any decision ever made in
(23:34):
the history of the NBA. Now think about it. At
that point, Lebron has won exactly nothing. Now he's gone
on to be arguably the greatest or one of the greatest,
depending on where you land. Players of all time. He
certainly proved us wrong in terms of his own self worth.
If you will, and you know, but in that moment,
(23:58):
do not tell Cleveland what you were doing until moments
before you told everybody else, or in some cases, I
think moments after you told everybody else. I just didn't
understand the logic behind that.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
Just one day before the decision, Dwayne Wade and Chris
Bosh had already announced their free agency choice. They did
it live on ESPN exclusively in an interview with a
respected journalist, Michael Wilbot. They announced they'd be playing in Miami, Wade,
of course, resigning, and Bosh leaving Toronto, the only team
he'd known for seven seasons. Sound familiar.
Speaker 18 (24:36):
We're gonna cut right to the chase, Dwayne and Chris.
Speaker 16 (24:39):
Dwayne will start with you, where are you gonna be
playing next season?
Speaker 13 (24:43):
Well, I'm back in Miami, man, I'm back in as now.
Speaker 14 (24:46):
So now I'm back in Wade County, back.
Speaker 16 (24:49):
In Miami with the heat.
Speaker 11 (24:50):
Chris, you want to jump in and tell us where
you're gonna be as well.
Speaker 13 (24:53):
Yeah, I'm joining mister Wade in Miami. These final decisions, God,
you don't have to say, go.
Speaker 8 (25:00):
On until tomorrow.
Speaker 16 (25:01):
Is there we will room?
Speaker 12 (25:02):
Could somebody else come and steal you between now and then?
Speaker 13 (25:10):
Yeah, I mean I'm fine. I think we're both fine
with this situation. We wanted to play with each other
and we have a golden opportunity to do that. So, uh,
we're going to take advantage of him.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
And thanks to ESPN for that clip.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
They didn't raise money for charity with the announcement, but
it was just fifteen minutes, still longer than it needed
to be, and it got no such negative public reaction
that would all be saved up for Lebron regardless. And
Gray could see in Lebron's eyes that evening that he
felt the weight of his words.
Speaker 12 (25:42):
And I could see that Lebron was pensive. I could
see that, you know, he wasn't nervous, and he wasn't anxious,
but you could see that there was a lot on
his mind and that this weight was going to be
lifted from his shoulders, or that that that he was
going to have to carry was going to get heavier.
(26:03):
So you know, it was really really a juxtaposition because
it could be one or the other.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
If this was some ego soaked choice for Lebron. It
certainly didn't come across on camera. He sounded careful and
looked like he wanted no real part of the cameras.
Speaker 15 (26:20):
The answer to the question everybody wants to know, Lebron,
what's your decision?
Speaker 9 (26:25):
And this fall, man, it's very tough, And this fall,
I'm gonna take my talents to Southern Beach and join
the Miami Heat.
Speaker 15 (26:34):
Miami Heat. That was the conclusion he woke up with
this morning.
Speaker 9 (26:38):
That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Thanks again to ESPN for that sound.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
His choice of words were famously mocked, despite the fact
that the taking my talents phrasing was just him parroting
his good pal and respected vet Kobe Bryant's words from
when he left high school and announced his NBA plans.
Speaker 18 (26:56):
Kobe Bryant, I've decided my talents to no I had
decided to skip college and take my talent in the NBA.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Well, it's hard to imagine even Lebron would be prepared
for a nation of sports fans to temporarily despise him.
Gray believes Lebron's destination of choice was a source of comfort.
Speaker 16 (27:27):
Not knowing how it was going to be received.
Speaker 12 (27:29):
Obviously, I think he was very happy because he was
going to a place that he wanted to go.
Speaker 16 (27:35):
He had made that decision to.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
Go with with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and pat
Riley and the Miami Heat and to move on from
territory that he had been in his entire life and
things that were very comfortable, and he was, you know,
going to take that next step. And in many ways
it was you know, the recruiting that he had never
had because he didn't participate in college and go through
(28:00):
all of that. And it was also you know, this
was the moment of player empowerment. Okay, he took over
his own rights and with that, as the most powerful
and best player in the NBA, he carried the entire
Players Association and everybody else with him. Everybody was, you know,
(28:26):
at his mercy and so he took all of the
slings and arrows for that. And you have to take
into account the fans are hurt in Cleveland, and we
could have done better for the fans in Cleveland, and
we could have been more sensitive to the feelings that
they were having of abandonment and of losing you know,
their their homegrown Son. So yeah, there were areas where
(28:49):
we certainly could have done better, but overall, looking back
on that show, it was landmark, It was precedent setting,
and it changed.
Speaker 16 (29:00):
The whole paradigm.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
Paradigm shifts didn't stop with just free agency announcements. The
whole NBA model had shifted. Suddenly, even the best player
in the sport playing for an organization closest to his
hometown could leave for another organization and possibly plan ahead
for that to happen, reaching across the country, across the
continent to select new superstar teammates, then choosing the organization
(29:26):
best suited to house them. All that was new, and
it was a start. Contrast to the Chicago bulls archetype
went it with Michael Jordan as the clear best player
and do it for the organization that drafted you. This
Miami Heat collection was all already starting to feel unfair, unnecessary,
even for a player of Lebron's caliber. Then, with less
(29:48):
than twenty four hours to digest what just happened to
NBA basketball, and while most people outside of Scorn Cleveland
were still fully forming their opinions on the matter, the
Heat and their news signees would do something that would
spread insufferable thoughts to the rest of the country.
Speaker 11 (30:06):
They celebrated not one championship, not lebron tell us about.
Speaker 9 (30:11):
That, not two, not three, not four, not five.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
James, Wade, and Boss were all in Miami, both to
party at a South Florida nightclub into the early morning
on July ninth, and to rejoice with fans inside American
Airlines Arena for a presentation and interview. Everywhere inside and
outside the arena, fans held signs with the three superstars
pictured and a slogan that played off President Barack Obama's
(30:44):
two thousand and eight campaign slogan yes we can reading
Yes we Did. After what seemed like hours of fans
gathering in the arena to a constant buzz of excitement
and random chance, the Miami Heats three game changing free
agents signings were brought onto the stage from a platform underneath.
(31:04):
Bosh's reaction upon seeing the crowd was to let out
a roar that would become his signature celebratory move in Miami.
He soaked it all in, not even considering the consequences
at the time.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Neither did the heat.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
Frankly, because that party wasn't planned to announce all three
of those players. It wasn't put together in less than
twenty four hours. It was put together weeks earlier to
announce the signing of Wade. That wouldn't have felt anything
like this did. All that was missing in this celebration
in the minds of critics were actual Larry O'Brien championship
(31:39):
trophies for what was such a premature celebration. You want
to know if people were assuming too much success once
these three joint forces. Hip hop artist and a regular
at Big Miami Heat games, Flow Rida, dropped a song
called we already won right after the announcements.
Speaker 6 (31:58):
We already what. They don't neither play norball game.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Man, you say, it was a night intended just for
Miami to celebrate something that just doesn't happen to this city,
at least not in terms of sports, and in that moment,
the Heat's players were in a bubble of support. Still
in the clouds over the previous twenty some hours of
(32:21):
celebration for Bosh, the regrets were there, but certainly not immediately.
Bosh spoke with JJ Reddick about that night on his
Old Man in the Three podcast.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
I've always wanted to ask one of you guys, do
you guys ever regret or have you ever talked about
doing the victory parade?
Speaker 12 (32:42):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (32:43):
Before you guys ever played a game together when you
guys all came out on stage, like, was that a
mistake in retrospect? Was maybe that brought a little bit
of that animosity on you.
Speaker 8 (32:54):
Can look at it. Yeah, yeah, the animosity totally one
hundred percent. But people have to understand we didn't organize that.
If they said, Yo, we're signing JJ Reddick tomorrow and
it's twenty thousand people there, you're not going to be like, nah,
let's just yo. No, hey, pull the plug. No, we're
(33:15):
not doing this. You're not going to do that. We
went right along with everything that was going on, and
I just found out that the only reason that stage
was there is because I think I forgot who had
a concert. Somebody had a concert. Was in between concerts.
They were doing three days or something like that, a
three day stretch, so the stage was still there.
Speaker 16 (33:35):
So we got there.
Speaker 8 (33:38):
They're like, yo, yeah, but come on bro, They like Yo,
we get there, They're like, Yo, look we got the stage.
You guys coming up right here. I'm like, oh my god,
it's like your dreams coming true.
Speaker 13 (33:48):
You know.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
With that said, we did not empathize or even consider.
It was like Miami was a bubble bro. We didn't
think of anything outside. We were just like stage hell yeah,
interview nailed it. I mean, well it yeah bro, he
(34:12):
you know, went right. It was just bro thing to
think parties legendary, you know what I mean. We're living
out of a hotel, you.
Speaker 17 (34:20):
Know, it was.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
It was just crazy, man. It was just a crazy time.
And then about two days after all that stuff happened,
that's when the smoke cleared and we kind of figured like, oh,
they didn't like that.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
Actually, there was still a slight delay before Bosh could
watch his dreams come true the way a rock star
would in his first headlining tour for one. Basketball normally
needs five guys on the court at any given time,
and these three needed some teammates.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
They all wanted to.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
Play with heat fixture and champion you Donnis Haslm as well.
HASLM was a coveted free agent at the time, and
it received a healthy offer from the Denver Nuggets, who
featured another good friend of James and Wade's, Carmelo Anthony
A Miami native and loyal to his corps.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
Haslam was actually.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
Heading to Miami's arena to eventually tell the Heats front
office personnel that he'd be taking the deal from Denver
and moving on for Miami because the organization didn't have
enough money left under the salary cap structure to resign him.
Then he got a call from his agent, the late
Henry Thomas, who was also Bosh and Wade's agent. Thomas
(35:27):
told him when he arrived at the arena to sit
in his car for about thirty minutes while he sorted
some things out. As it turned out, Wade had reached
out and tried to figure out how much money the
three main players would have to give up in order
for the team to resign. HASLM team owner Mickey Harrison,
general manager Andy Ellisburg, and team president pat Riley were
(35:47):
all in the building trying to hash out the numbers
on the day of the celebration.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
Here's Tim Reynolds again.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
One of the reasons why the party started so late.
They're upstairs and either Mickey or Andy's office and they're
all hashing out the money. Because you donnas had the
Denver offer on the table. They were figuring out how
much UD would leave on the table, and he left
fourteen million. I think Denver offered him thirty four and
(36:15):
Miami Miami could only come up with twenty. So they're
all giving money back to do this, do this, do this.
We're gonna get this. We're gonna get this, We're gonna
do this. Dwayne gave back a little bit more than
Lebron and Chris. They all work it out. They put
on their their white Heat uniforms. They're going down to
arena level to start this party. Finally, and somebody, I
(36:38):
assume it was Andy, realized that Chris had not signed
everything that he needed to sign. This starts mass chaos
and the party is now delayed again, so they can
run the paper down to Chris so he can initial
whatever form he didn't initial, because you know, the Heat
(37:00):
do it all by the book. Andy is very particular
about the order of which things are signed and all that,
and for good reason. That's why he's the best at
what he does. And then and only then after they
got Chrystal, like you know, put the paper up on
a wall and scribble whatever you have to scribble on it.
Then it was official. And then and only then put
the party stuff.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
Haslam giving up millions to stay with his hometown was
just the added fervor this gathering needed, he said. He
immediately knew it was the right choice. Here's Eudonis.
Speaker 8 (37:30):
Everybody got their own things that they searching for. But
if your why doesn't align with my why, I can't
be in the locker room with you.
Speaker 16 (37:36):
You know, so I understood that.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
Okay, now it's party times for everyone outside of Miami.
(38:07):
Those sounds were indicative of an overly brash, unnecessarily talented
trio saying way too much, far too soon.
Speaker 9 (38:15):
The way, we're gonna challenge each other to get better
on practice once the game start.
Speaker 16 (38:19):
I mean it's gonna be easy.
Speaker 11 (38:20):
I mean, but we also know youth pre Kings came
down here to win championships, not one championships. Lebron tell
us about that, not two, not three.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
Not four, Lebron counting his rings before they hatched. Were
words that would be repeated so often they'd become the
rallying cry for those looking to taunt heat players, particularly
James himself.
Speaker 13 (38:43):
Not five, not six, not seven.
Speaker 5 (38:48):
The celebration was not just universally considered over the top,
obnoxious but entirely premature, and it set up even more
of a disconnect between Lebron and his fans. In that moment,
inside that Miami bubble, the joy coming from those three
players and the fans celebrating with them appeared as genuine
(39:08):
as it.
Speaker 6 (39:09):
Gets in its own way.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
It was actually perfect, at least according to someone like
Levittard who truly knows Miami.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
It seemed to me that it would be a whole
lot more fun to win with your friends than with
people who weren't your friends, So why wouldn't they get together?
But every time I raised it as a question in
the months preceding the free agency, everyone laughed. That may
laughed at the idea of it because it hadn't been
done and people couldn't consider or fathom the notion of
(39:37):
what ended up happening, which it wasn't merely Lebron James
coming here, but it was Lebron James coming here and
very much taking a little brother kind of place on
the team, allowing Dwayne Wade to lead it, allowing Dwayne
Wade to be the centerpiece of the whole thing. It
was unusual to see even as it happened, and I'm
not sure I could believe that it was happening even
(39:58):
as it happened, because I just remember some of the
specifics up Dwayne was introduced last Dwayne's team, Dwayne City,
Dwayne's Team, Dwayne City, and I'm like, this other guy's
better than Dwayne. Like this other guy is coming in
and he's more famous than Dwayne, and he's coming in here,
not necessarily for a subservient role, but something a lot
different than the one that he was used to. All
(40:19):
of a sudden, you had the most interesting sports team
of our lifetimes, of my career working in this market, You,
all of a sudden had a team that was disliked
by the country and turned us against the world into
something that made an appearance very early on with that
cartoonish stage entrance where they were celebrating the championship before
(40:41):
they had dribbled a basketball.
Speaker 11 (40:44):
Lebron On behalf.
Speaker 19 (40:45):
Of all of Josh Florida, thank you him, welcome. How's
us feel where he's uniform?
Speaker 9 (40:56):
It feels right, it feels right. And to be in
this position to where does he uniform?
Speaker 15 (41:03):
Every single night, We're gonna make the world. No, not
just this lead, We're gonna work.
Speaker 9 (41:08):
We're gonna make the world know that the heat is back.
Speaker 16 (41:12):
Let's get it done, man, Let's get this thing done.
Speaker 7 (41:16):
I just thought it was uniquely cartoonishly comically Miami. Just loud, colorful, fun, funny, ridiculous.
Speaker 6 (41:30):
Just absurd.
Speaker 7 (41:31):
The whole thing was absurd. You had the celebration of
a lifetime and all it was was three guys backstage,
right before the crane lifted them up there signing the
paperwork to finalize that they were actually going to get
together and change what would be the next ten years
(41:52):
of that sport.
Speaker 5 (41:54):
Maybe not ten years, as you might have guessed from
the title of the pod. Four years is what Lebron
lasted Miami, But what happened in those four years became
one of the most intriguing eras in NBA history, with
so many historic moments and unforgettable details that you're bound
to learn something new revisiting them. The bump was absolutely
(42:18):
a message.
Speaker 17 (42:19):
I was their courtside and I saw a battery land
in front of me.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Oh, they have made it mad.
Speaker 17 (42:26):
It was an incredible pressure cooker for those guys.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
There was no camaraderie, there was no cohesion, there was
no raw Ross beat.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
It was like when the Americans beat the Soviets at
Lake Plaster.
Speaker 18 (42:38):
As that ball left my fingers, it just felt like
it floated.
Speaker 10 (42:42):
This is surreal, Like we're about to win the NBA Championship.
Speaker 7 (42:46):
One title would not have been enough, not.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Comparison to the Beatles, but it was like a hysteria
that I had never been a part of in my
ten years in the league.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
When I found out that, you know, we got him
in Miami, he I was super excited, but also I
was like, he's a genius.
Speaker 16 (43:03):
Where else would you go?
Speaker 3 (43:04):
It's Miami.
Speaker 6 (43:06):
Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartRadio and
the NBA
I was in Orlando before Miami, and I came straight
to Miami. And I've been here for like twenty nine
thirty years, and Miami raised me. And Miami is what
I flag, that I wave and that I breathe, and
I believe everything is Miami.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
You know, Miami, We just different. You know what I'm saying,
Like we special, We confident, and you know what I mean,
this would love.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
We don't see.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Nobody me And he asked in like, we Miami.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
That In case you didn't recognize, the voice was famed DJ,
record producer, record executive, rapper and Miami Heat superfan DJ Khaled.
Speaker 6 (00:53):
Why start a podcast about.
Speaker 5 (00:54):
One of the more intriguing teams in NBA history with
a musical artist raving about the city.
Speaker 6 (01:00):
Well, first of all, why not?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
There'll be plenty more of that unmistakable voice throughout by
the way. Second, because this Heat team's story wasn't just
about high profile teammates getting together to reach an extremely
lofty goal. It had the secondary effect of elevating a
franchise and an entire city.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
Along the way.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
There might be some of you listening right now who
only learned of Kalid because of that Heat fandom. There
are definitely some of you listening who only know who
I am largely because of that Miami Heat team. I'm
your host, Israel Gutierrez, and I, like Khaled, was raised
by Miami. I've lived here since I was two years old,
(01:43):
growing up a fan of all the local teams, which
started with only the Dolphins but then eventually expanded to
the Heat, Panthers, and Marlins. I became a journalist after
graduating from the University of Florida and fortunately never had
to leave South Florida. When I began my professional career
in two thousand, the same teams I grew up watching
and cheering for I suddenly had to cover as an
(02:04):
objective journalist. By twenty ten, I'd covered the Heat as
a beat writer for seven years and had been a
columnist at the Miami Herald for three. That's ten years
as a professional to tag onto another decade of just
being a Miami fan, and nothing, absolutely nothing could have
prepared me or any Miami native, frankly, for what was
(02:28):
on the way. It's the start of twenty ten, and
Miami was about to host its tenth Super Bowl and
second in four years. Miami as a city was comfortable
being at the center of the sports landscape, but mostly
as a host to outside teams and their fans, Fans
looking to get kissed by the sun and possibly experience
(02:48):
a twenty four hour nightclub in between cheering on their teams.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Rare was the occasion.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Where Miami's own sports would garner the type of attention
that caught the nation's eye for any length of time,
and in twenty ten, Miami was in one of those
sleepy sports cycles where there wasn't much to look at.
The Florida Panthers were in the midst of their ninth
straight season missing the playoffs. The Florida Marlins were only
seven years removed from a second World Series in team history,
(03:15):
but were about to start a seventh straight season without
reaching the postseason again. And the Miami Dolphins were in
the second year of a seven year stretch with no playoffs.
Then there were the Miami Heat. The Heat had won
(03:35):
the championship in two thousand and six in the second
season after Shaquille O'Neill blessed the town with championship legitimacy,
and in the third season of now superstar Dwayne Wade,
who the Heat drafted in two thousand and three, But
that flash of sports supremacy faded quickly as Shak's relationship
with the organization deteriorated, and he was traded to Phoenix
(03:56):
in two thousand and eight after only three plus seasons
with the Heat. In the few years that followed their championship,
Wade had won a scoring title in two thousand and
nine and was third in MVP voting. He was matching
or surpassing the best players in the league with his performances,
but he also happened to play the same shooting guard
position as Kobe Bryant, the Lakers legend who had won
(04:16):
four titles that would win his fifth in twenty ten.
Even as Wade was leading the eight Olympic team in scoring,
it was Kobe who received most of the adoration and
all of the starting nods for the gold medal winning
Redeem team. What the Miami Heat organization did over the
next four years to maximize their success with Wade, who
was still in his prime, was simply builled one of
(04:38):
the most dynamic, controversial, explosive, exciting, successful, and unforgettable teams
in sports history. Teaming with Wade would be Lebron James,
the game's best player, and Chris Bosh, another highly skilled
All Star with championship aspirations.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
It was a joining of forces so.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Surprising it was difficult to believe it even as it
was happening. It was a team so immediately rich with
high end talent and even more pressurized expectations, it would
almost be impossible to sustain for any extended length of time.
This wasn't just about an organization cashing in while it
could for some additional gold trophies. It was now about
(05:20):
a responsibility to the game of basketball to make sure
this worked. To make sure Lebron, a player who many
already predicted could rival the greatest of all time, would
finally break through and start his run toward basketball immortality
that only can truly begin with an NBA championship, to
make sure Wade and Bosh cement their Hall of Fame
(05:42):
careers with multiple rings. It was a team that, if
it worked, would revive a city and more importantly, empower
and encourage other players to take more control of their
careers and change the NBA forever. And little did anyone
really know at the time, but Miami would have a
limited amount of time to complete all of that.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Four years of.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Heat and yes, I said the name of the podcast,
four years of a team that ran so hot it
probably couldn't last much longer than it actually did. Dan
Lebttard has been writing and talking about sports in his
hometown of Miami for portions.
Speaker 6 (06:24):
Of four decades.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
He's attended the University of Miami. He's written for the
Miami Herald, written and worked on television and radio for ESPN,
and currently is running his own media company, meatal Ark Media,
highlighted by its signature podcast, The Dan Lebotard Show with
Stu Goatts. There might not be a better person to
paint the picture of the Miami sports landscape than Lebtard.
(06:46):
The Heat had experienced the most consistent success of the
pro sports teams in town, but not enough to stand
out amongst more established winners.
Speaker 7 (06:55):
Miami had established itself as a town that had at
Riley and before Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and
so there had been some winning, but basketball was not
dominating this town. Even in failure, which the Dolphins had
(07:15):
plenty of, the Dolphins were still the thing in the
town and the star power of the team. The furthest
it went was Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Those were
the successful teams, the ones that would always die at
Michael Jordan's doorstep. It wasn't a champion, It was largely
a regional team, not a national one, and locally, this
(07:38):
was absolutely not a basketball town. Liked basketball, but basketball
probably was behind baseball and football.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Back then, Wade had known the ultimate success, both as
an individual and with his team, but in his seventh
NBA season, he'd been chasing that championship feeling again for
a few years now. A seven game first round series
lost to the Atlanta Hawks and nine was nice, but
nowhere near the thrill he'd get from facing those Detroit
(08:08):
Pistons teams deep into the playoffs just a few years prior.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
Shot Cock is off.
Speaker 9 (08:13):
We'll dribble it out.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
For the first time in franchise history.
Speaker 10 (08:19):
The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Wade knew what basketball at its highest level felt like.
He wanted that again, and there was one game in
particular in twenty ten, in the middle of a season
that was far short of special from Miami that reminded
him of what that felt like and maybe even gave
us a glimpse of what kind of basketball wizardry was
headed toward the three to zero five. It was a
(08:46):
game between the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers and what was
then still called American Airlines Arena, and it featured a
matchup of redeemed team pals Wade and Lebron James.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I still talk about that game today when people asked me, like,
what was your favorite kind of game in the NBA?
Speaker 5 (09:02):
That's all Mario Vernard Chalmers. You might just know him
as Mario Chalmers, a collegiate champion at Kansas who was
in his second year in the league in twenty ten
and started about a quarter of the Heats games at
point guard.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
And that was like the one time I felt myself
as a player being in the moment and I'll just
want to watch, like I don't I don't want to
do anything but watch Lebron go this way, d Wade
go that way. And that's what I was just like, Wow,
He's like, this is what it takes to be a
superstar league. This is why these guys are stars, And
like I was really starstruck in that moment in the.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Game That game was on January twenty fifth, twenty ten.
Wade in the Heat were in the middle of a
forty seven wins season that would earn them the fifth
seed in the playoffs, while Lebron was in the midst
of his second straight MVP season on a Cabs team
that would lead the league with sixty one wins. There
wasn't quite love in the air that night, but there
wasn't nearly as much venom for an opponent as usual.
(09:55):
In fact, it would be Lebron's last visit to Miami
before his free agency that offseason, so the fans were
a little extra friendly to help court the King a
few months early, bringing signs that would hope to get
his attention. A few of the signs looked professionally executed,
with the most memorable one being a fake Facebook page
with Lebron's status as in the relationship with the Miami Heat.
(10:20):
A little more than halfway through the second quarter, Wade
and James put on a back and forth duel.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
That builds legends.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
This was the jaw dropping stretch of game Chalmers was
talking about. James and Wade already had a few moments
in this showcase of stars but with five eleven left
in the first half, Lebron unknowingly started the memorable exchange
by dunking on Wade and.
Speaker 11 (10:43):
Another steal this hoop by Paris show here comes James again.
The freak trainers left the state to exports for the
term of foul on Twainne Wade.
Speaker 10 (10:51):
Oh my Wade was float.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
He was going up for a light up.
Speaker 11 (10:55):
Lebron dunked the ball, Wade jumped up with two hands
trying to block it.
Speaker 10 (11:00):
He gets the foul.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
What a move by Lebron.
Speaker 11 (11:02):
James, giving the Cavaliers their first lead of the game,
a nineteen to four run, and the explosion by James.
Speaker 12 (11:10):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
Wade never took well to being on the wrong end
of a highlight play, so the very next play he
drew foul and hit two free throws.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
After that, a pair of.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Lebron free throws, and then two of the most dynamic
athletes in the game decided to put on a shooting
display that gave this regular season game an all star field.
Speaker 11 (11:33):
Oh baby, three point offul way that he got bowled.
Oh James answers back with a free ball, and with
these two guys, it's anything you can do. I can
do better. It's on a game, coach, and it started early.
Wade with twenty three, James with sixteen. Here he goes again.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Oh man, the crowd trying to egg on Dwayne Wade
just should come back again.
Speaker 11 (11:58):
Now Here it comes, Wade colliding with Vanish out one
of the great individual shows you will ever see. It's
an instant classic shot clock at six Wade against Parker.
There's a three, and there's your third baby. Oh man,
(12:20):
who Dwayne Wade's best scoring half of the year, thirty?
Here he goes three on the way and what else
would you expect? What else would you expect from Lebron
James their way from the backcourt.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
Oh man, don't take your eye off this game.
Speaker 11 (12:39):
Wade and James sheer smile and how could you not
enjoy it?
Speaker 13 (12:44):
Right along with.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Him, Wade literally skipped off the floor on his way
to the halftime locker room after sharing a glance and
a smile with Lebron. That high level of basketball he'd
been so familiar with was back on that Monday night
in Miami, and his friend Lebron providing all the counterpunches
made him feel alive again.
Speaker 14 (13:04):
You know, their competition is great at then they you know,
we understand it's a team game, you know, and I
think second hand I proved there. But you know, it's
moments within the game where you know, you take on
the competition of it. You know, it's it's it's a
little bit of anything you can do, I can do better,
you know, count of competition for a little while, and
it's fun for the fans. And you know, long as
we're not doing anything outside of what our team wants
(13:26):
to do, it's good for our team. So, you know,
probably one of the best second quarters that I've had,
and you know, just back and forth was good.
Speaker 11 (13:36):
Four point one seconds left of the fourth quarter, Miami
trailing ninety two to ninety one. He will have Clinton
Richardson in bound. He's got Jermaine o'nial all stood Wade
at Haslam and here we go. Wade catches it guarded
by James for the win, Miami's fifth one point game
(14:00):
and their second one point loss.
Speaker 5 (14:02):
Wade in the home crowd left slightly disappointed, but feeling
like they'd made their point to one Lebron James.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Fast forward to the end of that season. The Heat
had just.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Been knocked out of the playoffs as the number five
seed by the fourth seeded Boston Celtics. It was the
second consecutive first round exit from Miami, and this one
didn't even include the seven game drama that the previous
year series against Atlanta managed. In five games, Wade had
just averaged thirty three point two points on fifty six
percent shooting, including forty percent from three, with six point
(14:39):
eight assists five point six rebounds, but could manage only
one win in the series against the Celtics. On the
postgame podium in a makeshift press conference in the bowels
of Boston's TD Garden, Wade made a declaration so confident
it had some wondering if that was more than just
a superstar believing in himself.
Speaker 14 (14:59):
H Like I said before the playoffs started, this this
playoff run and drive, I had no indication on my decision.
I'm going for Well, this will be my last first
round exit for a while, I'll tell you that. So
I'm looking forward to, you know, continue to build and
being with some great players next year.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Tim Reynolds has been covering the Miami Heat since the
two thousand and two oh three season, the last before
Wade was drafted. By this point, he'd grown close enough
to Wade to know there was extra meaning behind that statement.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
When Dames staffer at the podium in Boston and said that,
I'm like, hmm, okay, there's something to it.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Two rounds later, there was another disappointed superstar sending signals.
The Celtics had just knocked Lebron James out of the
playoffs in six games. James was playing through a bulky
elbow and ended the deciding Game six with twenty seven points,
nineteen rebounds, ten assists, and nine turnos, but.
Speaker 6 (16:00):
Boston Selfix were the huge upset. They advanced to the conference.
Speaker 10 (16:04):
Finals, and Lebron james season is over?
Speaker 6 (16:09):
Is his career in Cleveland over?
Speaker 5 (16:13):
As he walked off the floor and into the tunnel
leading to the Cavs locker room, James took off his
Cavalier's jersey, and once he entered the locker room, casually
flipped it to an attendant.
Speaker 11 (16:24):
Cleveland fans wondering if that's the last time he'll take
off a Cavalier jersey?
Speaker 6 (16:29):
What did it mean? Everyone wanted to know.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
In less than two months time, Lebron would be an
unrestricted free agent for the first time. Following seven years
in Cleveland, his adopted city after growing up in nearby Akron, Ohio,
James would have to make the most difficult decision of
his professional career, the answer to the.
Speaker 15 (16:48):
Question everybody wants to know, Lebron, What's your decision?
Speaker 6 (17:02):
Jim Gray is a media sports legend.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
He's interviewed icons of sports like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan,
Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Kobe.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Bryant, and Mike Tyson.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Once famously, with a broken back spinal, he wrote a
book called Talking to Goats, The Moments You Remember and
the Stories You Never Heard, and among the subjects was Lebron.
James Gray had known Lebron from his days covering him
in high school to his early NBA days. Gray would
also fly to Lebron's hometown of Akron, Ohio to cover
(17:35):
the annual PGA Firestone Golf Tournament, where he would also
visit with Maverick Carter, Lebron's longtime friend and business manager
since two thousand and six, and other associates of Lebron,
including the other founders of their agency and sports marketing firm,
lrimr Rich Paul and Randy Mims. Of all the interviews
Gray has completed in his career. He would have one
(17:57):
nationally televised event with Lebron that would become one of
his most controversial. James chose to air his free agency
decision live on ESPN the evening of July eighth, twenty ten,
in the form of a one hour special. The Decision,
as the show was called, peaked at more than thirteen
million viewers. As Lebron would announce his choice. About halfway
(18:20):
into the special, I talked with Jim about how that
option came about and whether or not he thought that
interview would set in motion such a wave of hatred
toward the best basketball player in the game. It began
with a conversation at an NBA Finals game in Los
Angeles in twenty ten between Gray and Carter.
Speaker 12 (18:40):
I just saw Maverick Carter that evening of a playoff
game sitting with Ari Emmanuel, who was the head of
William Morris Endeavor, And they were sitting in Ari's front
row seats and the Lakers were playing, and I walked
down and saw him at halftime and shook his hand,
and I said, Hey, Mav, would it be possible to
(19:01):
do the first interview with Lebron after he chooses his team,
and he said, I would consider that, And then it
just out of nowhere, I kind of said, and you know,
perhaps we should just do an hour special and have
him announce it on the air. What's the difference between
that in a press conference? You know, let him make
his own announcement. And Ari said, that's a brilliant idea,
(19:24):
and Mavericks said, right then, he said, you know, we
could probably raise a bunch of money for charity.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
For full context, the idea of Lebron announcing his decision
in that public a manner was mentioned in a mail
bag column by noted Boston sports fan Bill Simmons. A
reader named Drew Wagner was inspired by high school recruits
announcing their college choices live on television and recommended a
live show on ABC called Lebron's Choice. But it wouldn't
(19:52):
be Simmons who executed the plan. Gray brought it up
to Carter at that Finals game, and Carter convinced Lebron
to do it, while the Manual pitched the idea to
then ESPN president John Skipper.
Speaker 12 (20:05):
We had an opportunity to possibly put it on NBC
because I had worked at NBC on the NBA for
a long time, and Maverick ultimately felt that it should
be with one of the NBA carriers ESPN, ABC or Turner,
and that was fine, and so they eventually worked something
(20:25):
out with ESPN and with John Skipper to take over
the time, and we raised six and a half million
dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and
it's still, i believe, to this day, the largest contribution
that has ever been made to that organization and has
(20:46):
helped the lives of countless, hundreds of thousands of kids.
Skipper was very young ho because he knew the amount
of attention that this was going to garner and he
was one hundred percent behind that because it represented the
largest audience they'd ever had for a television show, not
for a live event, for a television show, which which
(21:08):
I believe still holds up to this day, for a show,
you know, not to be confused with a Monday night
football game or perhaps an NBA you know, playoff game
or something of that ill, but for a one off
show for that hour.
Speaker 16 (21:24):
You know, he knew just how much people would watch.
Speaker 12 (21:28):
It, and he knew, you know, that it would be
it would be must see TV.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
ESPN assigned Gray a producer he was familiar with, and
they went over Gray's interview, questions and plans for the show.
The next day, Gray met with Lebron and his associates
for some promotional photos and then drove from a nearby
home to the Boys and Girls Club in Gretich, Connecticut.
With them was Lebron's then girlfriend and now wife, Savannah Brinson.
Gray said the ride was largely quiet, in part because
(21:56):
he himself asked not to know what team Lebron was
choosing ahead of time.
Speaker 12 (22:00):
I did not want to know what his decision was.
I intentionally told Maverick, told Lebron and told Leon Rose,
do not tell me because I didn't want to know.
Speaker 16 (22:11):
I wanted it to be real, at least from my end.
Speaker 12 (22:14):
And I also didn't want to be the one who
accidentally blurts this out, because anything can happen. You know,
somebody's talking to your So I just didn't want to know.
I wanted to know when the audience knew.
Speaker 6 (22:25):
Quick pause, we already know.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
There's no way to truly have predicted how negative the
response was to Lebron airing this decision. The purity of
the idea raising millions for the Boys and Girls Club
of America while announcing information everyone is dying to know.
It's really hard to dispute. How could anyone truly see
the level of vitriol that would follow such a selfless
(22:48):
act of charity. Well, a few folks did. Jackie McMullen
was one. Jackie is a now retired NBA writer who
worked for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and ESPN, among
other media outlets along the way. She not only saw
that an hour special for a ten second announcement seemed
like ego inflated overkill, but she called the move unfathomable
(23:11):
on ESPN News the night before the decision.
Speaker 17 (23:14):
I was actually in Bristol, Connecticut for a couple of
days in advance of the decision, and I remember going
on the air I think it was live, and saying,
don't do this. The self importance of thinking that your
decision is more important than any decision ever made in
(23:34):
the history of the NBA. Now think about it. At
that point, Lebron has won exactly nothing. Now he's gone
on to be arguably the greatest or one of the greatest,
depending on where you land. Players of all time. He
certainly proved us wrong in terms of his own self worth.
If you will, and you know, but in that moment,
(23:58):
do not tell Cleveland what you were doing until moments
before you told everybody else, or in some cases, I
think moments after you told everybody else. I just didn't
understand the logic behind that.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
Just one day before the decision, Dwayne Wade and Chris
Bosh had already announced their free agency choice. They did
it live on ESPN exclusively in an interview with a
respected journalist, Michael Wilbot. They announced they'd be playing in Miami, Wade,
of course, resigning, and Bosh leaving Toronto, the only team
he'd known for seven seasons. Sound familiar.
Speaker 18 (24:36):
We're gonna cut right to the chase, Dwayne and Chris.
Speaker 16 (24:39):
Dwayne will start with you, where are you gonna be
playing next season?
Speaker 13 (24:43):
Well, I'm back in Miami, man, I'm back in as now.
Speaker 14 (24:46):
So now I'm back in Wade County, back.
Speaker 16 (24:49):
In Miami with the heat.
Speaker 11 (24:50):
Chris, you want to jump in and tell us where
you're gonna be as well.
Speaker 13 (24:53):
Yeah, I'm joining mister Wade in Miami. These final decisions, God,
you don't have to say, go.
Speaker 8 (25:00):
On until tomorrow.
Speaker 16 (25:01):
Is there we will room?
Speaker 12 (25:02):
Could somebody else come and steal you between now and then?
Speaker 13 (25:10):
Yeah, I mean I'm fine. I think we're both fine
with this situation. We wanted to play with each other
and we have a golden opportunity to do that. So, uh,
we're going to take advantage of him.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
And thanks to ESPN for that clip.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
They didn't raise money for charity with the announcement, but
it was just fifteen minutes, still longer than it needed
to be, and it got no such negative public reaction
that would all be saved up for Lebron regardless. And
Gray could see in Lebron's eyes that evening that he
felt the weight of his words.
Speaker 12 (25:42):
And I could see that Lebron was pensive. I could
see that, you know, he wasn't nervous, and he wasn't anxious,
but you could see that there was a lot on
his mind and that this weight was going to be
lifted from his shoulders, or that that that he was
going to have to carry was going to get heavier.
(26:03):
So you know, it was really really a juxtaposition because
it could be one or the other.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
If this was some ego soaked choice for Lebron. It
certainly didn't come across on camera. He sounded careful and
looked like he wanted no real part of the cameras.
Speaker 15 (26:20):
The answer to the question everybody wants to know, Lebron,
what's your decision?
Speaker 9 (26:25):
And this fall, man, it's very tough, And this fall,
I'm gonna take my talents to Southern Beach and join
the Miami Heat.
Speaker 15 (26:34):
Miami Heat. That was the conclusion he woke up with
this morning.
Speaker 9 (26:38):
That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Thanks again to ESPN for that sound.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
His choice of words were famously mocked, despite the fact
that the taking my talents phrasing was just him parroting
his good pal and respected vet Kobe Bryant's words from
when he left high school and announced his NBA plans.
Speaker 18 (26:56):
Kobe Bryant, I've decided my talents to no I had
decided to skip college and take my talent in the NBA.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Well, it's hard to imagine even Lebron would be prepared
for a nation of sports fans to temporarily despise him.
Gray believes Lebron's destination of choice was a source of comfort.
Speaker 16 (27:27):
Not knowing how it was going to be received.
Speaker 12 (27:29):
Obviously, I think he was very happy because he was
going to a place that he wanted to go.
Speaker 16 (27:35):
He had made that decision to.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
Go with with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and pat
Riley and the Miami Heat and to move on from
territory that he had been in his entire life and
things that were very comfortable, and he was, you know,
going to take that next step. And in many ways
it was you know, the recruiting that he had never
had because he didn't participate in college and go through
(28:00):
all of that. And it was also you know, this
was the moment of player empowerment. Okay, he took over
his own rights and with that, as the most powerful
and best player in the NBA, he carried the entire
Players Association and everybody else with him. Everybody was, you know,
(28:26):
at his mercy and so he took all of the
slings and arrows for that. And you have to take
into account the fans are hurt in Cleveland, and we
could have done better for the fans in Cleveland, and
we could have been more sensitive to the feelings that
they were having of abandonment and of losing you know,
their their homegrown Son. So yeah, there were areas where
(28:49):
we certainly could have done better, but overall, looking back
on that show, it was landmark, It was precedent setting,
and it changed.
Speaker 16 (29:00):
The whole paradigm.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
Paradigm shifts didn't stop with just free agency announcements. The
whole NBA model had shifted. Suddenly, even the best player
in the sport playing for an organization closest to his
hometown could leave for another organization and possibly plan ahead
for that to happen, reaching across the country, across the
continent to select new superstar teammates, then choosing the organization
(29:26):
best suited to house them. All that was new, and
it was a start. Contrast to the Chicago bulls archetype
went it with Michael Jordan as the clear best player
and do it for the organization that drafted you. This
Miami Heat collection was all already starting to feel unfair, unnecessary,
even for a player of Lebron's caliber. Then, with less
(29:48):
than twenty four hours to digest what just happened to
NBA basketball, and while most people outside of Scorn Cleveland
were still fully forming their opinions on the matter, the
Heat and their news signees would do something that would
spread insufferable thoughts to the rest of the country.
Speaker 11 (30:06):
They celebrated not one championship, not lebron tell us about.
Speaker 9 (30:11):
That, not two, not three, not four, not five.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
James, Wade, and Boss were all in Miami, both to
party at a South Florida nightclub into the early morning
on July ninth, and to rejoice with fans inside American
Airlines Arena for a presentation and interview. Everywhere inside and
outside the arena, fans held signs with the three superstars
pictured and a slogan that played off President Barack Obama's
(30:44):
two thousand and eight campaign slogan yes we can reading
Yes we Did. After what seemed like hours of fans
gathering in the arena to a constant buzz of excitement
and random chance, the Miami Heats three game changing free
agents signings were brought onto the stage from a platform underneath.
(31:04):
Bosh's reaction upon seeing the crowd was to let out
a roar that would become his signature celebratory move in Miami.
He soaked it all in, not even considering the consequences
at the time.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Neither did the heat.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
Frankly, because that party wasn't planned to announce all three
of those players. It wasn't put together in less than
twenty four hours. It was put together weeks earlier to
announce the signing of Wade. That wouldn't have felt anything
like this did. All that was missing in this celebration
in the minds of critics were actual Larry O'Brien championship
(31:39):
trophies for what was such a premature celebration. You want
to know if people were assuming too much success once
these three joint forces. Hip hop artist and a regular
at Big Miami Heat games, Flow Rida, dropped a song
called we already won right after the announcements.
Speaker 6 (31:58):
We already what. They don't neither play norball game.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Man, you say, it was a night intended just for
Miami to celebrate something that just doesn't happen to this city,
at least not in terms of sports, and in that moment,
the Heat's players were in a bubble of support. Still
in the clouds over the previous twenty some hours of
(32:21):
celebration for Bosh, the regrets were there, but certainly not immediately.
Bosh spoke with JJ Reddick about that night on his
Old Man in the Three podcast.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
I've always wanted to ask one of you guys, do
you guys ever regret or have you ever talked about
doing the victory parade?
Speaker 12 (32:42):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (32:43):
Before you guys ever played a game together when you
guys all came out on stage, like, was that a
mistake in retrospect? Was maybe that brought a little bit
of that animosity on you.
Speaker 8 (32:54):
Can look at it. Yeah, yeah, the animosity totally one
hundred percent. But people have to understand we didn't organize that.
If they said, Yo, we're signing JJ Reddick tomorrow and
it's twenty thousand people there, you're not going to be like, nah,
let's just yo. No, hey, pull the plug. No, we're
(33:15):
not doing this. You're not going to do that. We
went right along with everything that was going on, and
I just found out that the only reason that stage
was there is because I think I forgot who had
a concert. Somebody had a concert. Was in between concerts.
They were doing three days or something like that, a
three day stretch, so the stage was still there.
Speaker 16 (33:35):
So we got there.
Speaker 8 (33:38):
They're like, yo, yeah, but come on bro, They like Yo,
we get there, They're like, Yo, look we got the stage.
You guys coming up right here. I'm like, oh my god,
it's like your dreams coming true.
Speaker 13 (33:48):
You know.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
With that said, we did not empathize or even consider.
It was like Miami was a bubble bro. We didn't
think of anything outside. We were just like stage hell yeah,
interview nailed it. I mean, well it yeah bro, he
(34:12):
you know, went right. It was just bro thing to
think parties legendary, you know what I mean. We're living
out of a hotel, you.
Speaker 17 (34:20):
Know, it was.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
It was just crazy, man. It was just a crazy time.
And then about two days after all that stuff happened,
that's when the smoke cleared and we kind of figured like, oh,
they didn't like that.
Speaker 5 (34:33):
Actually, there was still a slight delay before Bosh could
watch his dreams come true the way a rock star
would in his first headlining tour for one. Basketball normally
needs five guys on the court at any given time,
and these three needed some teammates.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
They all wanted to.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
Play with heat fixture and champion you Donnis Haslm as well.
HASLM was a coveted free agent at the time, and
it received a healthy offer from the Denver Nuggets, who
featured another good friend of James and Wade's, Carmelo Anthony
A Miami native and loyal to his corps.
Speaker 6 (35:06):
Haslam was actually.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
Heading to Miami's arena to eventually tell the Heats front
office personnel that he'd be taking the deal from Denver
and moving on for Miami because the organization didn't have
enough money left under the salary cap structure to resign him.
Then he got a call from his agent, the late
Henry Thomas, who was also Bosh and Wade's agent. Thomas
(35:27):
told him when he arrived at the arena to sit
in his car for about thirty minutes while he sorted
some things out. As it turned out, Wade had reached
out and tried to figure out how much money the
three main players would have to give up in order
for the team to resign. HASLM team owner Mickey Harrison,
general manager Andy Ellisburg, and team president pat Riley were
(35:47):
all in the building trying to hash out the numbers
on the day of the celebration.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
Here's Tim Reynolds again.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
One of the reasons why the party started so late.
They're upstairs and either Mickey or Andy's office and they're
all hashing out the money. Because you donnas had the
Denver offer on the table. They were figuring out how
much UD would leave on the table, and he left
fourteen million. I think Denver offered him thirty four and
(36:15):
Miami Miami could only come up with twenty. So they're
all giving money back to do this, do this, do this.
We're gonna get this. We're gonna get this, We're gonna
do this. Dwayne gave back a little bit more than
Lebron and Chris. They all work it out. They put
on their their white Heat uniforms. They're going down to
arena level to start this party. Finally, and somebody, I
(36:38):
assume it was Andy, realized that Chris had not signed
everything that he needed to sign. This starts mass chaos
and the party is now delayed again, so they can
run the paper down to Chris so he can initial
whatever form he didn't initial, because you know, the Heat
(37:00):
do it all by the book. Andy is very particular
about the order of which things are signed and all that,
and for good reason. That's why he's the best at
what he does. And then and only then after they
got Chrystal, like you know, put the paper up on
a wall and scribble whatever you have to scribble on it.
Then it was official. And then and only then put
the party stuff.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
Haslam giving up millions to stay with his hometown was
just the added fervor this gathering needed, he said. He
immediately knew it was the right choice. Here's Eudonis.
Speaker 8 (37:30):
Everybody got their own things that they searching for. But
if your why doesn't align with my why, I can't
be in the locker room with you.
Speaker 16 (37:36):
You know, so I understood that.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
Okay, now it's party times for everyone outside of Miami.
(38:07):
Those sounds were indicative of an overly brash, unnecessarily talented
trio saying way too much, far too soon.
Speaker 9 (38:15):
The way, we're gonna challenge each other to get better
on practice once the game start.
Speaker 16 (38:19):
I mean it's gonna be easy.
Speaker 11 (38:20):
I mean, but we also know youth pre Kings came
down here to win championships, not one championships. Lebron tell
us about that, not two, not three.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
Not four, Lebron counting his rings before they hatched. Were
words that would be repeated so often they'd become the
rallying cry for those looking to taunt heat players, particularly
James himself.
Speaker 13 (38:43):
Not five, not six, not seven.
Speaker 5 (38:48):
The celebration was not just universally considered over the top,
obnoxious but entirely premature, and it set up even more
of a disconnect between Lebron and his fans. In that moment,
inside that Miami bubble, the joy coming from those three
players and the fans celebrating with them appeared as genuine
(39:08):
as it.
Speaker 6 (39:09):
Gets in its own way.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
It was actually perfect, at least according to someone like
Levittard who truly knows Miami.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
It seemed to me that it would be a whole
lot more fun to win with your friends than with
people who weren't your friends, So why wouldn't they get together?
But every time I raised it as a question in
the months preceding the free agency, everyone laughed. That may
laughed at the idea of it because it hadn't been
done and people couldn't consider or fathom the notion of
(39:37):
what ended up happening, which it wasn't merely Lebron James
coming here, but it was Lebron James coming here and
very much taking a little brother kind of place on
the team, allowing Dwayne Wade to lead it, allowing Dwayne
Wade to be the centerpiece of the whole thing. It
was unusual to see even as it happened, and I'm
not sure I could believe that it was happening even
(39:58):
as it happened, because I just remember some of the
specifics up Dwayne was introduced last Dwayne's team, Dwayne City,
Dwayne's Team, Dwayne City, and I'm like, this other guy's
better than Dwayne. Like this other guy is coming in
and he's more famous than Dwayne, and he's coming in here,
not necessarily for a subservient role, but something a lot
different than the one that he was used to. All
(40:19):
of a sudden, you had the most interesting sports team
of our lifetimes, of my career working in this market, You,
all of a sudden had a team that was disliked
by the country and turned us against the world into
something that made an appearance very early on with that
cartoonish stage entrance where they were celebrating the championship before
(40:41):
they had dribbled a basketball.
Speaker 11 (40:44):
Lebron On behalf.
Speaker 19 (40:45):
Of all of Josh Florida, thank you him, welcome. How's
us feel where he's uniform?
Speaker 9 (40:56):
It feels right, it feels right. And to be in
this position to where does he uniform?
Speaker 15 (41:03):
Every single night, We're gonna make the world. No, not
just this lead, We're gonna work.
Speaker 9 (41:08):
We're gonna make the world know that the heat is back.
Speaker 16 (41:12):
Let's get it done, man, Let's get this thing done.
Speaker 7 (41:16):
I just thought it was uniquely cartoonishly comically Miami. Just loud, colorful, fun, funny, ridiculous.
Speaker 6 (41:30):
Just absurd.
Speaker 7 (41:31):
The whole thing was absurd. You had the celebration of
a lifetime and all it was was three guys backstage,
right before the crane lifted them up there signing the
paperwork to finalize that they were actually going to get
together and change what would be the next ten years
(41:52):
of that sport.
Speaker 5 (41:54):
Maybe not ten years, as you might have guessed from
the title of the pod. Four years is what Lebron
lasted Miami, But what happened in those four years became
one of the most intriguing eras in NBA history, with
so many historic moments and unforgettable details that you're bound
to learn something new revisiting them. The bump was absolutely
(42:18):
a message.
Speaker 17 (42:19):
I was their courtside and I saw a battery land
in front of me.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Oh, they have made it mad.
Speaker 17 (42:26):
It was an incredible pressure cooker for those guys.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
There was no camaraderie, there was no cohesion, there was
no raw Ross beat.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
It was like when the Americans beat the Soviets at
Lake Plaster.
Speaker 18 (42:38):
As that ball left my fingers, it just felt like
it floated.
Speaker 10 (42:42):
This is surreal, Like we're about to win the NBA Championship.
Speaker 7 (42:46):
One title would not have been enough, not.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Comparison to the Beatles, but it was like a hysteria
that I had never been a part of in my
ten years in the league.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
When I found out that, you know, we got him
in Miami, he I was super excited, but also I
was like, he's a genius.
Speaker 16 (43:03):
Where else would you go?
Speaker 3 (43:04):
It's Miami.
Speaker 6 (43:06):
Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartRadio and
the NBA
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