During one of the episodes of “The OGs Podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller”, the former three-time NBA champion shared with two-time NBA champion Norris Cole and Mike Miller what happened when LeBron James left the Miami Heat.
The four-time NBA champion and multiple-record setter icon of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James played with the Heat from 2010 to 2014 and when he left, the president of the squad, Hall of Famer Pat Riley, was not happy with the decision.
Riley acquired LeBron and Chris Bosh and along with Dwayne Wade, he gave the Heat top-three players who took the squad to incredible heights. The Heat squad reached the NBA finals four times and won two championships during the “Big Three” era.
In 2012, the Miami Heat won the NBA championship and in the next year, the ultimate squad defeated the San Antonio Spurs and won the NBA championship again.
UD and Norris Cole on what Pat Riley told them the season after Lebron left
“Get yall sh*t together, King ain’t here no more. Everybody can go. I’ll start this all over”
“He didn’t want us to be friends with Bron, none of that sh*t”
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Haslem mentioned, “How many meetings we had when Bron left. It was tight in the building for a season. Everybody took it personal except for the players.”
When Miller asked what the meetings were about, Haslem continued, “Get y’all s*** together King ain’t here no more.”
Considering Riley, Miami’s All-Time leading rebounder, Haslem continued, “He didn’t want us to be friends. We won two championships with the man you want me to hate. I can’t do that. It was tense in the room.”
LeBron had started his prominent career with the Cavaliers and then once again joined the squad in 2014 after leaving the Heat squad, with whom he had a successful run. With Cavaliers in 2016, along with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, LeBron won the NBA Finals.
The former icon of the league, Haslem, still evidently has a lot of respect for LeBron, even though Riley was against the players being friendly with the Lakers superstar as he had left the squad. The success LeBron achieved with the Miami Heat is etched in history and he is an icon of Heat as well.
