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10 years ago today, LeBron James announced his decision to take his talents to South Beach. The NBA has not been the same ever since. Superteams have been formed left, right and center since that time. Player movement across the league is on the rise like never before.
While the Boston Celtics had secured for themselves a 'Big Three' in 2007 by trading for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, this was the first time that a reigning league MVP had switched sides in free agency. LeBron James and Chris Bosh arriving in South Beach led to tectonic shifts in the NBA's power dynamics.
LeBron James' tenure at Miami Heat
For a 4-year spell in which the Miami Heat made 4 straight Finals appearances, they were prohibitive favorites to win the championship. While they managed only 2 titles on those 4 tries, underwhelming slightly, at their peak the Heatles were an all-time great NBA team.
Evidence of that is their record in 2012-13, when they finished with a 66-16 record for a win percentage of over 80%. During that season, they went on a 27-game unbeaten run - a streak that lasted for nearly 2 months and was only broken by an epic, once-in-a-career Nate Robinson performance.
LeBron James took to social media to reminisce about those times today. He responded to a tweet from Slam magazine with some choice emojis.
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That 2012-13 version of the Heat had a stifling defense and relied heavily on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade's telepathic connection in transition. With James' ability to play as a small ball center, they were able to roll out Death Lineups at will when they needed fast scoring.
When they ran into dire trouble at the offensive end against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals, it was LeBron James who dug them out of it. With some monster performances in Games 6 and 7 of the NBA Finals, James secured back-to-back MVP and Finals MVP trophies for himself in addition to the Larry O'Brien trophies.
The Big Three era will go down forever as LeBron James' peak years, even though he had legendary performances to offer before and after those 4 years in South Beach. The combination of switch-everything defense and wrecking-ball offense that we saw from him when playing with Wade and Bosh is something we won't be seeing again.
Now aged 35 bordering on 36, LeBron James is ageing like fine wine, retaining most of his peak athleticism still. He also has a younger star to depend upon at both ends of the court in Anthony Davis. This season may represent his final stab at a championship run.
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Guess the Lakers players!
