How Heat’s ‘Big Three’ Supplanted Celtics’ ‘Big Three’ During 2010s

Pat Riley's talent acquisition in 2010 took Danny Ainge's to a new level

by Sean T. McGuire | Mar 5, 2023 | 4 Min Read

LeBron James and countless others have credited the Boston Celtics for creating the formula in the “Big Three” era of the NBA.

“They set the blueprint for us when they decided to make the trade for KG and for Ray,” James told The Boston Globe in May 2011 before the Miami Heat eliminated the Green from the NBA playoffs. “Seeing guys make sacrifices to come together and play as one. They set the blueprint and went out there and did it.”

Unfortunately for those “Big Three” Celtics teams, it’s a copycat league. Especially when the recipe proves as successful as it did in Boston.

During the summer of 2007, former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge landed perennial NBA All-Stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in trades with the Seattle Supersonics and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively. Garnett was acquired for five players and two first-round picks while Allen was brought to Boston in a deal that included three players and a second-rounder. The two stars marked the two most talented teammates Paul Pierce had played with, an effort to give Boston’s franchise cornerstone the chance to win.

Boston’s chemistry was evident from the jump as the Celtics won an NBA-best 66 games and concluded the 2007-08 season by claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The “Big Three” era in Boston, however, was limited to one championship despite the feeling it should have more to show for Ainge’s roster-building. The Celtics, who advanced to two NBA Finals in a three-year span, were hindered by injuries including those to Garnett and Kendrick Perkins which halted the chance at another title.

With injuries causing cracks in the foundation and the age of Boston’s “Big Three” approaching mid-thirtysomethings, longtime Heat executive Pat Riley took Ainge’s talent acquisition to another level in July 2010.

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Riley completed a sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for James and another sign-and-trade with the Toronto Raptors for Chris Bosh. The “Big Three” in Miami followed a similar framework as Boston’s except for one massive difference: The Heat added three players still very much in the prime of their careers. James and Bosh each entered their age-26 seasons while Wade was 28 years old.

And while the Heat didn’t accomplish the “… not four, not five, not six, not seven,” level of success James once hinted, Miami used that group to supplant Pierce, Garnett and Allen as the most formidable “Big Three” not long after.

In the first postseason of Miami’s “Big Three,” the Heat eliminated the Celtics in a gentleman’s sweep during the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Miami won the NBA championship the following season against the Oklahoma City Thunder, earning James his first ring, after eliminating the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. It marked the second time in two seasons Miami eliminated Boston. The Heat, who ultimately went to four consecutive NBA Finals, won back-to-back titles after outlasting the San Antonio Spurs to cap the 2012-13 campaign.

The Celtics traded Pierce and Garnett to start their rebuild following the 2012-13 season. James and the Heat, however, saw their “Big Three” conclude just one season later as San Antonio earned revenge in the 2014 NBA Finals. James returned to the Cavaliers after that four-year run in South Beach.

Looking back, the Celtics were the organization that introduced the “Big Three” to the NBA landscape. But it was the Heat which took it a step further, not only supplanting the Celtics, but offering the league its first look at what now is viewed as the star-studded norm, regardless of what it means for the lower-tier franchises.

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About the Author

Sean T. McGuire

I write about the Patriots and other sports. Bill Belichick once told me I asked a "Good question," and I think he meant it. Also walked the 72nd hole of the 2024 Travelers Championship with champion Scottie Scheffler.

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