Chris Bosh said he “took offense” to LeBron James’ departure from the Miami Heat in 2014, revealing that he learned of the decision through a text message shortly before the news became public.
Speaking on the latest episode of All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the Hall of Famer reflected on the abrupt end to Miami’s Big Three era.
“I thought it was BS. 10 minutes later it was everywhere,” Bosh said. “I get it but at the time I didn’t understand it. At the time I was ready to put the team back together cause we had just lost so we wanted to put something back together so we could win. And it really didn’t go like that. I took offense to it to be honest.”
James left the Heat after four consecutive NBA Finals appearances alongside Bosh and Dwyane Wade, returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second stint. Miami had just fallen to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals.
Bosh said the emotional impact lingered well beyond the announcement.
“I’m a competitor and tbh when you go back to the locker room and Bron ain’t in that chair and everybody is looking at you and D Wade for that 25 points it’s like damn, man. Sh*t my knee hurts… I was upset it took months to get over it. We had to be in the same place and talk about it… We had to get back to a mode of not rebuilding but getting more out of ourselves and not always having that easy thing relying on 6 to do his job.”
Chris Bosh says he found out LeBron was leaving Miami through a text 10 minutes before it was announced 😳
“I thought it was BS. 10 minutes later it was everywhere. I get it but at the time I didn’t understand it. At the time I was ready to put the team back together cause we… pic.twitter.com/UjSJeuUmLy
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) February 13, 2026
LeBron James’ Cavs return reshaped NBA landscape for Chris Bosh, Heat
James’ return to Cleveland resulted in four straight Finals appearances from 2015 to 2018, highlighted by the franchise’s first championship in 2016 when the Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors.
In Miami, the immediate aftermath proved challenging. The Heat finished 37-45 in the 2014-15 season and missed the playoffs, marking the franchise’s first postseason absence since 2008. Bosh averaged 21.1 points and 7 rebounds that season before being sidelined by blood clots, a condition that would ultimately end his career prematurely.
Bosh returned for parts of the 2015-16 season, helping Miami post a 48-34 record and reach the Eastern Conference semifinals. However, recurring health complications forced him off the court permanently. The Heat waived him in 2017, and he was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
James later joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 and won his fourth NBA championship in 2020. Now 40 years old and in his 23rd NBA season, James is averaging 22 points, 7.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50.2% from the field and 30.5% from 3-point range across 36 games. The Lakers enter All-Star weekend at Intuit Dome with a 33-21 record, sitting fifth in the Western Conference standings.
While time has passed, Bosh acknowledged that the initial shock of James’ departure required direct conversation before the former teammates could fully move forward.
