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The center of the basketball universe relocated to Miami in the summer of 2010 when LeBron James announced his plan to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.
After much build up during “The Decision” special on ESPN, James famously said he was leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to “take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.” The decision ended James’ seven-year stint in Cleveland, where he collected two NBA MVPs and two NBA Finals appearances, but no NBA championships.
James joined fellow All-Stars Wade and Bosh in Miami to form a super team that promised multiple championships for the city of Miami during their introductory celebration.
“Not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven,” James said at the introductory rally. “I’m not just up here blowing smoke at none of these fans, because that’s not what I’m about. I’m about business. And we believe we can win multiple championships if we take care of business and do it the right way.”
The superstar trio delivered on their promise to deliver multiple titles to Miami, but the process wasn’t without a fair share of difficulties.
Look back at the highs and lows from LeBron James' four seasons in Miami.
During the trio’s first season together, they were upset by Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in The Finals. The shocking win by Dallas inspired the Heat and helped propel the team to win back-to-back NBA championships in 2012 and ’13. However, Miami’s shot at a three-peat was spoiled in 2014 by the San Antonio Spurs, who dominated the Heat for a five-game series win.
After falling to the Spurs, LeBron returned to Cleveland in the summer of 2014. During his four-season stint in Miami, LeBron tallied two NBA MVPs, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and four All-Star appearances with averages of 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
