Paul Pierce Says LeBron James Should Have Won '3-4 Championships' With The Miami Heat

LeBron James was ringless before joining the Heat in 2010. But by the time he left four years later, he was a 2x champion coming off of four straight Finals appearances. It was in Miami that James first became a winner and it’s alongside Wade, Bosh, and Erik Spoelstra that he experienced the most impressive stretch of his career.

And while the Heat experienced some great periods of dominance with LeBron James, things were far from perfect during his tenure and it’s fair to say they left some chips on the table.

For a team as stacked as the Heat was, many expexted them to become the NBA’s next great dynasty but it was over before it really had a chance to kick off. Looking back, that 2011 loss in the Finals is arguably the biggest missed opportunity for James and the Heat given that their opponent was peobably the easiest out of all four Finals.

What Happened In 2011?

In their final season together, James, Wade and Bosh were clearly outmatched by the Spurs, who handled them easily in the Finals that year. All-in-all, it’s hard to blame Miami for losing that series.

In their first season, however, the Heat lost in the playoffs despite being heavy favorites all the way through. Even with the trio at their freshest, the Heat somehow lost in the Finals to an underdog Mavericks team with Dirk Nowitzki and a well-balanced roster.

The Heat came in with the utmost confidence and they were practically seeing the confetti after going up 2-1 to take an early lead in the series.

But thanks to some trash talk by LeBron and Wade, Dirk kicked into overdrive and caught fire for the last remaining games. The Mavericks won the next three contests after that, clinching one of the biggest NBA Finals upsets in history and forever marking their place as NBA champions.

In perhaps the worst stretch of his career, James averaged just 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the series and it’s a performance that continues to haunt him to this day.

While the Heat would go on to avenge their defeat, there is a lingering feeling that they should have done even better with all the talent they were given. For Paul Pierce, those two Finals wins only scratch the surface of what the Heat were capable of and he considers it nothing short of underachieving that Miami’s big three did not accomplish more together.

Unfortunately, James left the Heat after just four seasons and we may never get to know what the future would have been had he stuck around to try and meet fan expextations.