The Big Three, sometimes known as The Heatles,[1][2][3] were a trio of professional basketball players – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh – who played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from the 2010–11 season to the 2013–14 season. James, Bosh, and Wade had been selected as the 1st, 4th, and 5th picks in the 2003 NBA draft, and became scoring leaders for their respective franchises over their first seven seasons. During their 4 seasons together the Heat won 2 NBA finals, won 4 NBA Eastern Conference championships, and won the Southeast division 4 times.
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 somewhat controversial 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 and 2013. 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.
James first referred to the trio as "the Heatles" after a 96–82 road victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on January 3, 2011, comparing the three stars to The Beatles for drawing strong road attendance. "I see we sell out 99.1 percent on the road, so we call ourselves the Heatles off the Beatles, so every time we take our show on the road we bring a great crowd," James said.[4] The term was criticized immediately by the media. Business Insider derided it as "stupid", while NBC Sports said, "It's just too early for this — the Beatles are the most successful rock band of all time and you guys have yet to really do anything except look good in December. You haven't even been on Ed Sullivan yet."[5][6]
Records and statistics
Season-by-season team record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage
| Season | GP | W | L | W–L% | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 82 | 58 | 24 | .707 | 1st in Southeast | Lost NBA Finals, 4–2 (Mavericks) |
| 2011–12 | 66 | 46 | 20 | .697 | 1st in Southeast | Won NBA Finals, 4–1 (Thunder) |
| 2012–13 | 82 | 66 | 16 | .805 | 1st in Southeast | Won NBA Finals, 4–3 (Spurs) |
| 2013–14 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 1st in Southeast | Lost NBA Finals, 4–1 (Spurs) |
Season-by-season player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Led team
2010–11 regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 77 | 77 | 36.3 | .496 | .240 | .815 | 8.3 | 1.9 | 0.77 | 0.64 | 18.7 |
| LeBron James | 79 | 79 | 38.8 | .510 | .330 | .759 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 1.57 | 0.63 | 26.7 |
| Dwyane Wade | 76 | 76 | 37.1 | .500 | .306 | .758 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 1.46 | 1.14 | 25.5 |
2011 playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 21 | 21 | 39.7 | .474 | .000 | .814 | 8.5 | 1.1 | 0.71 | 0.90 | 18.6 |
| LeBron James | 21 | 21 | 43.9 | .466 | .353 | .763 | 8.4 | 5.9 | 1.67 | 1.19 | 23.7 |
| Dwyane Wade | 21 | 21 | 39.4 | .485 | .269 | .777 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 1.62 | 1.33 | 24.5 |
2011–12 regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 57 | 57 | 35.2 | .487 | .286 | .821 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 0.89 | 0.79 | 18.0 |
| LeBron James | 62 | 62 | 37.5 | .531 | .362 | .771 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 1.85 | 0.81 | 27.1 |
| Dwyane Wade | 49 | 49 | 33.2 | .497 | .268 | .791 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 1.67 | 1.29 | 22.1 |
2012 playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 14 | 10 | 31.4 | .493 | .538 | .827 | 7.8 | 0.6 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 14.0 |
| LeBron James | 23 | 23 | 42.7 | .500 | .259 | .739 | 9.7 | 5.6 | 1.87 | 0.70 | 30.3 |
| Dwyane Wade | 23 | 23 | 39.4 | .462 | .294 | .729 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 1.70 | 1.30 | 22.8 |
2012–13 regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 74 | 74 | 33.2 | .535 | .284 | .798 | 6.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 16.6 |
| LeBron James | 76 | 76 | 37.9 | .565 | .406 | .753 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 26.8 |
| Dwyane Wade | 69 | 69 | 34.7 | .521 | .258 | .725 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 21.2 |
2013 playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 23 | 23 | 32.7 | .458 | .405 | .733 | 7.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.1 |
| LeBron James | 23 | 23 | 41.7 | .491 | .375 | .777 | 8.4 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 25.9 |
| Dwyane Wade | 22 | 22 | 35.5 | .457 | .250 | .750 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 15.9 |
2013–14 regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 79 | 79 | 32 | .516 | .339 | .820 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16.2 |
| LeBron James | 77 | 77 | 37.7 | .567 | .379 | .750 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 27.1 |
| Dwyane Wade | 54 | 53 | 32.9 | .545 | .281 | .733 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 19 |
2014 playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bosh | 20 | 20 | 34.3 | .507 | .405 | .750 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 14.9 |
| LeBron James | 20 | 20 | 38.2 | .565 | .407 | .806 | 7.1 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 27.4 |
| Dwyane Wade | 20 | 20 | 34.7 | .500 | .375 | .767 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 17.8 |
Individual Honors
Honors listed are only for the years the Big Three were together.
- James- 2012, 2013
NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
- James- 2012, 2013
- James 2012, 2013
- Wade- 2013
- James 2011-2014
- Wade- 2011
- Wade – 2012, 2013
- James – 2011–2013
- James – 2014
Season-long NBA Community Assist Award
- Wade – 2013
- Wade – 2011-2014
- Bosh – 2011–2014
- James – 2011–2014
NBA All-Star Shooting Stars Contest Champion
- Bosh – 2013–2014 (with Swin Cash and Dominique Wilkins)
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, 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.[7] 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. Bosh was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and Wade received the same honor two years later.
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.[8] Culturally after the Big 3 was formed also became villains following the infamous welcome party before the season began.[9]NBA legend Michael Jordan also had his criticism with LeBron James's competitiveness of joining forces with other superstars in the league.[10]