When LeBron James joined Miami 15 years ago, he made a bold pronouncement about the number of Championships that he, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh would bring to the Heat franchise. During the special introduction of the Heat's "Big Three," James said that they would light up South Beach with numerous titles, saying that they would settle for "not one, not two... not seven" rings.
This fearless claim was mentioned by Heat owner Micky Arison when he was inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Remembering the actual number of titles that the Big Three won, Arison decided to get a little cheeky with James.
"In 2010, with Dwyane, LeBron and Chris Bosh, we knew we could win," Arison said in his HOF speech. "Not one, not two...I guess it was just two."
Perfectly, the camera panned to James and Bosh as Arison said these words. The former Heat forward was seen having a laugh at Arison's joke.
After James and Bosch teamed up with Wade in Miami, they reached the 2011 NBA finals but faced a defeat against the Dallas Mavericks. Overcoming this final defeat, the trio started to fulfill the promise made by James by clinching consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013.
Both times, James was awarded the Finals MVP. Though the Heat managed to reach the NBA finals for a fourth consecutive time in 2014, they faced a defeat against the San Antonio Spurs. In the offseason that followed, LeBron James decided to leave Miami, putting an end to the Big Three era in that city.
Though the separation between James and the Heat organization was not as amicable as it could have been, he and Arison have now gotten to the point when they can crack jokes about that period.
LeBron James remembers Kobe Bryant's impact
LeBron James paid tribute to Kobe Bryant during their enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Redeem Team. James reflected on the impact made by Kobe on Team USA in 2008, when they reclaimed the glory at the Olympics.
Speaking at Saturday's ceremony, along with other members of the team, James noted the effect of Bryant's mentality on the overall psyche of the roster. He appreciated the NBA legend for teaching them about work ethic and fully committing to the task at hand.
"The missing link that we needed in order to regain the dominance with Team USA," James said. "He brought a sense of seriousness to the team. He made us lock in. We knew once he joined, and he was gonna be committed, that we couldn't be doing nothing half-a**. Kobe won't be going for that."
After the disappointing performance by Team USA at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where they finished with just a bronze medal, they assembled the Redeem Team. Team USA brought back LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony, but it was Kobe's presence that played the main part.
At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Team USA won the gold medal, and they were dubbed the Redeem Team. They entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for their impact and legacy on the national team.
In addition to the four players mentioned above, the Redeem Team also featured Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozer.