The complete dissolution of the Miami Heat's Big Three came more quickly than anyone anticipated.
After LeBron James made the decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, Pat Riley's plan was to surround Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the type of role players necessary for Miami to maintain some semblance of status quo for the foreseeable future even without the league's best player. Instead, Bosh's career was derailed by a blood clot discovered just before the ensuing All-Star break, and Wade played just two more seasons in Miami following James' departure before signing with his hometown Chicago Bulls.
Just like that, the “Heatles” were gone.
If naysayers were to be believed, though, Miami would have broken up its Big Three one year before James returned to the Cavaliers, trading Bosh had Ray Allen not hit a game-tying shot in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs that allowed the Heat the opportunity to win a second consecutive championship. Wade, in an interview with Sports Illustrated's Rohan Nadkarni, pushed back on that notion, insisting he, Bosh, and James needed each other to be successful, a reality the front office understood.
“I don’t think so,” Wade said when asked about the possibility of Bosh being dealt in 2013. “The three of us together is what made us special. We would have made changes if we lost again, but I don’t think they would have traded Chris.”
Wade, 37, played his final home game on Tuesday night, scoring 30 points in the Heat's drubbing of the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers. The last game of his storied NBA career is on Wednesday at Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets.
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