The Big Three, sometimes known as The Heatles, were a trio of professional basketball players – LeBron James,

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champ ...

, and

Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bos ...

– who played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2010 to 2014. James, Bosh, and Wade had been selected as the 1st, 4th, and 5th picks in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

, and became scoring leaders for their respective franchises over their first seven seasons.

History

After re-signing Wade following the 2009–10 season, the Heat secured the signings of both Bosh and James in free agency, with the latter being announced in the television special '' The Decision''. The trio led the Heat to the NBA Finals in each of their four seasons together, and won back-to-back championships in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gath ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. After losing the Finals to the San Antonio Spurs the following season, James opted out of a contract extension, and returned to play for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Centr ...

Records and statistics

Season-by-season team record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage''

Season-by-season player statistics

Lead team

2010–11 regular season

2011 playoffs

2011–12 regular season

2012 playoffs

2012–13 regular season

2013 playoffs

2013–14 regular season

2014 playoffs

Aftermath

Both Wade and Bosh continued to play for the Heat for two additional seasons after James' departure, before Wade departed Miami and signed with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, while Bosh ultimately retired due to medical reasons. On September 27, 2017, Wade signed a one-year contract with the Cavaliers, reuniting him with James. On February 8, 2018, at the NBA trade deadline, the Cavaliers traded Wade back to the Miami Heat in exchange for a protected 2024 second-round draft pick. On September 16, 2018, Wade announced his plan to retire from the NBA effective after the 2018–19 season and Chris Bosh officially announced his retirement on February 12, 2019 in his Miami Heat jersey retirement ceremony.

Legacy

The trio have been credited with having a dramatic influence on the NBA, specifically relating to team development and general management. Many teams in subsequent seasons have sought to adopt the "Big Three" model of courting established NBA superstars to their franchises, in order to win championships.

References

{{LeBron James 2010 beginnings 2014 endings 2010–11 NBA season 2011–12 NBA season 2012–13 NBA season 2013–14 NBA season 2010s in Miami 21st-century African-American people * African-American history in Miami * LeBron James Nicknamed groups of NBA players Trios