Back in 2010, LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed with the Miami Heat to create one of the very first NBA super teams. As soon as they got together, fans expected fireworks and while they were definitely entertaining to watch, it took a bit of time before they could get acclimated to one another. The first season was filled with ups and downs, including in the NBA Finals as they lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks, who were considered heavy underdogs in the series.
While speaking to Gilbert Arenas on the "No Chill with Gilbert Arenas" podcast, Dwyane Wade got to divulge on the first year with Bosh and LeBron, and how it all played out. As he explained, there was a lot of pressure to succeed, and with everyone thinking the Heat were the villains, no one on the team was having much fun.
“It took the fun out of basketball. Trying to play the villain, it just took the joy away from the game.” Wade said. “Even though we were still good and all that kind of stuff, we didn’t have fun in that first year… The hate, it kind of drove in the wrong, we didn’t place it right. If we would have placed the hate in the right spot, we could’ve still had joy playing. We took everything that people said about us and we took it personal. And once we got to the top of winning time, we couldn’t perform the way we needed to perform because we were tight.”
Following their disappointing season, the Big 3 went on to win two-straight NBA Championships all while making it to four-straight finals. For all intents and purposes, the team underperformed expectations, but their impact on the league remains legendary.
