By forming one of the first superteams in the league, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat definitely drew the ire of a significant portion of NBA fans who believed they had somehow established an unfair advantage over the rest of the league.

Bosh recently spoke with Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, and the retired two-time NBA champion shared what it was like to be public enemy No. 1:

“It would probably start when that parade happened,” explained Chris Bosh. “As cool as it may seem, I’m gonna tell people right now, and even for you right now man, if someone offers to throw you a parade? Think about it. [Laughs.] You have to think about it, man. For whatever reason, they thought we orchestrated this whole thing. They thought we put it together. We participated in it—and it was super cool and fun, I’m not going to lie—but, you know, I would show the clips of how much fun we were having and then show the outside reaction, the jerseys being burned. Even with the things that were happening to LeBron in Cleveland—that kind of incentivized some people in Toronto. I was like, ‘Bro, take it easy.’ But I would say just the sensationalism of everything. I would just play clips from the next day of everything happening outside of Miami. That would paint as good of a picture of anything.”

Article Continues Below
More Miami Heat News
image thumbnail
3 early Chicago Bulls trade targets in 2025 NBA offseasonJedd Pagaduan ·
DeMar DeRozan photoshopped in Heat jersey.
Heat trade proposal for DeMar DeRozan in offseason amid Kings trade rumorsBailey Bassett ·
Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) dribbles against the Phoenix Suns during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center.
Heat rumors: Kings’ DeMar DeRozan still viewed as Miami offseason trade targetJake Faigus ·
Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors
Steve Kerr reveals what Erik Spoelstra told him about Jimmy ButlerTomer Azarly ·
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks to shoot in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.
Bam Adebayo’s All-Defensive snub snaps 5-year Heat streakZachary Weinberger ·
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) dribbles the basketball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third quarter during game three for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center.
Could Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins be Lakers trade targets?Zachary Weinberger ·

When asked if all the hate somehow affected him in what was ultimately a failed first season as the Big 3, Bosh was refreshingly honest in his response:

“Absolutely,” he admitted. “I think it was a surprise to everybody how it was handled, as far as the reactions were concerned. That was something we definitely had to get over. And we still had to be successful. And that was really, really hard to handle because it did change the way we played. It changed our thought process. You find yourself thinking about what you’re going to say to a fan who got out of line instead of doing what it takes to win. You’re worried about it being the Super Bowl every time it’s a regular season game, us not being allowed to settle in as a team. It was a very particular situation that we were faced with. Eventually we quieted our minds and came together. Basketball is basketball, we’ve being doing this our whole life.”

Chris Bosh and the Heat would then go on to win back-to-back titles in their second and third year together in Miami, but in this account, we are reminded that despite the brave face they put on, all the negativity thrown at them still holds an adverse effect on the players.