Big Three (Miami Heat) - Misplaced Pages

Trio of professional basketball players

The Big Three

The Big Three, sometimes known as The Heatles, were a trio of professional basketball players – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh – who formed the core of a superteam for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from the 2010–11 season to the 2013–14 season. James, Bosh, and Wade had been selected as the 1st, 4th, and 5th picks in the 2003 NBA draft, and became scoring leaders for their respective franchises over their first seven seasons. During their 4 seasons together the Heat won 2 NBA finals, won 4 NBA Eastern Conference championships, and won the Southeast division 4 times.

History

After re-signing Wade following the 2009–10 season, the Heat secured the signings of both Bosh and James in free agency, with the latter being announced in the somewhat controversial television special The Decision. The trio led the Heat to the NBA Finals in each of their four seasons together, and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. After losing the Finals to the San Antonio Spurs the following season, James opted out of a contract extension, and returned to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James first referred to the trio as "the Heatles" after a 96–82 road victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on January 3, 2011, comparing the three stars to The Beatles for drawing strong road attendance. "I see we sell out 99.1 percent on the road, so we call ourselves the Heatles off the Beatles, so every time we take our show on the road we bring a great crowd," James said. The term was criticized immediately by the media. Business Insider derided it as "stupid", while NBC Sports said, "It's just too early for this — the Beatles are the most successful rock band of all time and you guys have yet to really do anything except look good in December. You haven't even been on Ed Sullivan yet."

Records and statistics

Season-by-season team record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Season	GP	W	L	W–L%	Finish	Playoffs
2010–11	82	58	24	.707	1st in Southeast	Lost NBA Finals, 4–2 (Mavericks)
2011–12	66	46	20	.697	1st in Southeast	Won NBA Finals, 4–1 (Thunder)
2012–13	82	66	16	.805	1st in Southeast	Won NBA Finals, 4–3 (Spurs)
2013–14	82	54	28	.659	1st in Southeast	Lost NBA Finals, 4–1 (Spurs)

Season-by-season player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Led team

2010–11 regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	77	77	36.3	.496	.240	.815	8.3	1.9	0.77	0.64	18.7
LeBron James	79	79	38.8	.510	.330	.759	7.5	7.0	1.57	0.63	26.7
Dwyane Wade	76	76	37.1	.500	.306	.758	6.4	4.6	1.46	1.14	25.5

2011 playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	21	21	39.7	.474	.000	.814	8.5	1.1	0.71	0.90	18.6
LeBron James	21	21	43.9	.466	.353	.763	8.4	5.9	1.67	1.19	23.7
Dwyane Wade	21	21	39.4	.485	.269	.777	7.1	4.4	1.62	1.33	24.5

2011–12 regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	57	57	35.2	.487	.286	.821	7.9	1.8	0.89	0.79	18.0
LeBron James	62	62	37.5	.531	.362	.771	7.9	6.2	1.85	0.81	27.1
Dwyane Wade	49	49	33.2	.497	.268	.791	4.8	4.6	1.67	1.29	22.1

2012 playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	14	10	31.4	.493	.538	.827	7.8	0.6	0.43	1.00	14.0
LeBron James	23	23	42.7	.500	.259	.739	9.7	5.6	1.87	0.70	30.3
Dwyane Wade	23	23	39.4	.462	.294	.729	5.2	4.3	1.70	1.30	22.8

2012–13 regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	74	74	33.2	.535	.284	.798	6.8	1.7	0.9	1.4	16.6
LeBron James	76	76	37.9	.565	.406	.753	8.0	7.3	1.7	0.9	26.8
Dwyane Wade	69	69	34.7	.521	.258	.725	5.0	5.1	1.9	0.8	21.2

2013 playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	23	23	32.7	.458	.405	.733	7.3	1.5	1.0	1.6	12.1
LeBron James	23	23	41.7	.491	.375	.777	8.4	6.6	1.8	0.8	25.9
Dwyane Wade	22	22	35.5	.457	.250	.750	4.6	4.8	1.7	1.0	15.9

2013–14 regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	79	79	32	.516	.339	.820	6.6	1.1	1.0	1.0	16.2
LeBron James	77	77	37.7	.567	.379	.750	6.9	6.3	1.6	0.3	27.1
Dwyane Wade	54	53	32.9	.545	.281	.733	4.5	4.7	1.5	0.5	19

2014 playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Bosh	20	20	34.3	.507	.405	.750	5.6	1.1	0.9	1.0	14.9
LeBron James	20	20	38.2	.565	.407	.806	7.1	4.8	1.8	0.6	27.4
Dwyane Wade	20	20	34.7	.500	.375	.767	3.9	3.9	1.5	0.3	17.8

Individual Honors

Honors listed are only for the years the Big Three were together.

NBA Most Valuable Player

James- 2012, 2013

NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

James- 2012, 2013

Best NBA Player ESPY Award

James 2012, 2013

NBA Community Assist Award

Wade- 2013

All-NBA First Team

James 2011–2014

All-NBA Second Team

Wade- 2011

All-NBA Third Team

Wade – 2012, 2013

NBA All-Defensive First Team

James – 2011–2013

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

James – 2014

Season-long NBA Community Assist Award

Wade – 2013

NBA All-Star selections

Wade – 2011–2014
Bosh – 2011–2014
James – 2011–2014

NBA All-Star Shooting Stars Contest Champion

Bosh – 2013–2014 (with Swin Cash and Dominique Wilkins)

Aftermath

Both Wade and Bosh continued to play for the Heat for two additional seasons after James' departure, before Wade departed Miami and signed with the Chicago Bulls, while Bosh ultimately retired for medical reasons. On September 27, 2017, Wade signed a one-year contract with the Cavaliers, reuniting him with James. On February 8, 2018, at the NBA trade deadline, the Cavaliers traded Wade back to the Miami Heat in exchange for a protected 2024 second-round draft pick. On September 16, 2018, Wade announced his plan to retire from the NBA effective after the 2018–19 season and Chris Bosh officially announced his retirement on February 12, 2019, in his Miami Heat jersey retirement ceremony. Bosh was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and Wade received the same honor two years later.

Legacy

The trio have been credited with having a dramatic influence on the NBA, specifically relating to team development and general management. Many teams in subsequent seasons have sought to adopt the "Big Three" model of courting established NBA superstars to their franchises, in order to win championships. Culturally after the Big 3 was formed also became villains following the infamous welcome party before the season began. NBA legend Michael Jordan also had his criticism with LeBron James's competitiveness of joining forces with other superstars in the league.

References

Windhorst, Brian (September 27, 2016). "The melancholy end to the Big Three era in Miami". ESPN. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
Vardon, Joe. "Can Jimmy Butler be Miami's 'Heatles' LeBron James for Game 6 in Boston?". The Athletic. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
"ASK IRA: For the Heat, is the froth in the fit of a new Big 3?". Sun Sentinel. August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
"LeBron James Re-names Miami the 'Heatles'". January 4, 2011.
Baumer, Kevin. "Miami Heat Players Stupidly Calling Themselves "The Heatles"". Business Insider. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
Helin, Kurt (January 4, 2011). "Heat players nickname themselves "The Heatles"". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
"Dwyane Wade clears waivers, signs with Cleveland Cavaliers". September 27, 2017.
Friel, Jon (August 23, 2012). "How the Miami Heat 'Big 3' Blueprint Changed the NBA". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
"LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh Were 'Caught up in the Moment' During Their Infamous Heat Welcome Party: 'We Didn't Know What Was Going On'". June 14, 2021.
"When Michael Jordan dissed LeBron James for forming a superteam in Miami". March 31, 2022.

v t e Miami Heat
Founded in 1988 Based in Miami, Florida
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1988 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Miami Arena Kaseya Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Micky Arison President Pat Riley General manager Andy Elisburg Head coach Erik Spoelstra
G League affiliate	Sioux Falls Skyforce
Retired numbers	1 3 10 23 32 33 40
NBA championships	2006 2012 2013
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Indiana Pacers New York Knicks Orlando Magic
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Micky Arison Pat Riley Michael Baiamonte Burnie "Bring Em Out" "The Heat Is On" The Calhoun Shot Shaq–Kobe feud 15 Strong The Decision The Big Three 27 in a row The Shot Big Face Coffee Starting 5
Category Commons

v t e LeBron James
Basketball career	Career achievements The Decision Big Three (Miami Heat) Banana Boat Team The Block
Family	Savannah James (wife) Bronny James (son) Bryce James (son)
Films	More than a Game Shooting Stars
Television series	Million Dollar Mile The Shop Starting 5 The Wall
Related media	The LeBrons MultiVersus Mind the Game
Other ventures	I Promise School SpringHill Company Uninterrupted
Category

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