The thought seems crazy now — the Heat have made the Finals in all three seasons of the Big Three era and won the last two NBA championships. Clearly, James, Wade and Bosh did make the right choice. But it’s easy to forget in 2014 that the transition was anything but seamless in the beginning.
Because of the unpopular The Decision TV special and over-the-top welcome party the Heat threw themselves that offseason, James went from being generally well-liked among NBA fans to a universal villain, someone whose every misstep was picked apart in real time on social media and throughout the press. That can’t have been an easy transition for him, either.
If James had hinted at having any kind of second thoughts at the time, he would have gotten destroyed from all directions. Now that he’s a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP, firmly cemented among the all-time greats of the sport and (mostly) back in the good graces of fans, it’s easier to reflect on a time when it wasn’t a given that things would work out for him.
We’re all better off now that the greatest player in the world is at peace with this part of his career.
By SEAN HIGHKIN
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