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The 2010-11 Chicago Bulls led by MVP Derrick Rose finished with the best record in the NBA at 62-20. It was impressive considering Rose was only 22, the Bulls were being led by first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau and the team didn't have a second star next to Rose.
The Bulls tried to get that second and third superstar for Rose in the summer of 2010. Chicago heavily pursued LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but the two best friends decided to team up on the Miami Heat with Chris Bosh.
After LeBron made his decision, the entire NBA world basically villainized him and booed the Big 3 in road arenas. Those jeers were the loudest in Cleveland when James made his first return to Ohio to face the Cavs.
However, if you ask James, Wade and Bosh which arena was the loudest to play in during that 2010-11 season, they would likely say the United Center. Bulls fans booed the heck out of LeBron and Wade because they were upset the two stars didn't come to the Bulls. As for Rose and Co., they didn't care. They were ready to go to war no matter what.
The Bulls and Heat first met that season on January 15, 2011 in Chicago. LeBron was inactive for Miami due to injury, so the Heat turned to Wade to take care of business against the Bulls. The United Crowd watched two Chicago natives go at each other, as Rose and Wade battled it out and put on a show for their hometown.
Wade poured in 33 points and shot 50.0 percent from the field. He took over the game in the fourth quarter and briefly gave Miami the lead late. However, Bulls shooting guard Kyle Korver hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 25.5 seconds left in regulation to give Chicago the lead and the win.
Rose scored 34 points and dished out eight assists in the win. He got the best of Wade and Miami in this one.
The Bulls and Heat met again on February 24 in Chicago once more. Led by Rose and Luol Deng, the Bulls won 93-89. Rose had 26 points and six assists while Deng hit the game-winning 3-pointer and finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
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LeBron played in this game and registered 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The Bulls crowd booed James and Wade every time they touched the ball on offense. Chicago fans had no love for these two Hall of Famers after not coming to the Bulls.
The final regular-season matchup between these two teams was in South Beach. Chicago once again won, this time by just one point. Rose had 27 points and five assists. He also hit this ridiculous layup over LeBron and Wade in transition. It's considered by many to be one of the best layups of all-time.
After the Bulls won this game, reports came out that said some of the Heat players were crying in the locker room.
Rose won the MVP award after averaging 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists that season. D-Rose was the only player in the league who ranked in the top 10 in both points per game and assists. Chicago cruised through the first two rounds of the 2011 playoffs, setting up an Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Heat.
After winning Game 1 at home in blowout fashion, the Bulls lost four games in a row to the Heat, eventually falling at the United Center in Game 5 to end the series. The Heat put LeBron on Rose in the fourth quarter in every game after Game 1 and the Bulls just couldn't score.
Joakim Noah called the Heat “Hollywood as hell” after the series. As we all know, Noah has no love for LeBron.
