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“The Decision” was a historically massive part of the modern NBA culture. The moment in which the biggest star of the sport, LeBron James, announced his move to the Miami Heat after seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As ESPN's Jackie MacMullan recalls it, the “We Did It” rally held by Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and James was something that left president Pat Riley mortified, admittedly having not paid enough attention to it:
“The Decision was incredibly ill-advised and self-indulgent, but we all knew it was coming,” said MacMullan. “Gilbert’s scathing reaction was somewhat predictable, since he found out LeBron was leaving at the same time as the rest of us. But that rally was so over-the-top. I will never forget the look on Pat Riley’s face when they panned to him in the stands. He looked mortified. Riley told me years later he was so busy making sure all the contracts for LeBron and Chris Bosh were in order that he didn’t pay much attention to what the team had planned. It showed.”
The words are known to this day, as The Big 3 promised “not five, not six, not seven” but several more championships to the city of Miami.
Riley likely didn't know where to hide his face at that rally as his new stars promised the world to a fan base that was already over the moon due to this new coalition of superstar talent.
The Heat were a massive disappointment in their first season when they gave up a 2-1 lead to the Dallas Mavericks, letting the Dirk Nowitzki-led squad win three of the next four games to win their first title.
It would take until 2012 for James and company to make good on their promise, winning the first of back-to-back titles with the Heat. The two years before that title must have been a pressure-cooker for Riley as much as it was for the players.
