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Speaker 1: I was in Orlando before Miami, and I came straight

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Speaker 1: to Miami. And I've been here for like twenty nine

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Speaker 1: thirty years, and Miami raised me. And Miami is what

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Speaker 1: I flag, that I wave and that I breathe, and

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Speaker 1: I believe everything is Miami.

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Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.

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Speaker 3: You know, Miami, We just different. You know what I'm saying,

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Speaker 3: Like we special, We confident, and you know what I mean,

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Speaker 3: this would love.

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Speaker 4: We don't see.

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Speaker 1: Nobody me And he asked in like, we Miami.

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Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying.

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Speaker 5: That In case you didn't recognize, the voice was famed DJ,

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Speaker 5: record producer, record executive, rapper and Miami Heat superfan DJ Khaled.

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Speaker 6: Why start a podcast about.

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Speaker 5: One of the more intriguing teams in NBA history with

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Speaker 5: a musical artist raving about the city.

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Speaker 6: Well, first of all, why not?

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Speaker 5: There'll be plenty more of that unmistakable voice throughout by

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Speaker 5: the way. Second, because this Heat team's story wasn't just

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Speaker 5: about high profile teammates getting together to reach an extremely

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Speaker 5: lofty goal. It had the secondary effect of elevating a

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Speaker 5: franchise and an entire city.

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Speaker 6: Along the way.

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Speaker 5: There might be some of you listening right now who

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Speaker 5: only learned of Kalid because of that Heat fandom. There

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Speaker 5: are definitely some of you listening who only know who

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Speaker 5: I am largely because of that Miami Heat team. I'm

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Speaker 5: your host, Israel Gutierrez, and I, like Khaled, was raised

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Speaker 5: by Miami. I've lived here since I was two years old,

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Speaker 5: growing up a fan of all the local teams, which

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Speaker 5: started with only the Dolphins but then eventually expanded to

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Speaker 5: the Heat, Panthers, and Marlins. I became a journalist after

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Speaker 5: graduating from the University of Florida and fortunately never had

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Speaker 5: to leave South Florida. When I began my professional career

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Speaker 5: in two thousand, the same teams I grew up watching

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Speaker 5: and cheering for I suddenly had to cover as an

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Speaker 5: objective journalist. By twenty ten, I'd covered the Heat as

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Speaker 5: a beat writer for seven years and had been a

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Speaker 5: columnist at the Miami Herald for three. That's ten years

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Speaker 5: as a professional to tag onto another decade of just

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Speaker 5: being a Miami fan, and nothing, absolutely nothing could have

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Speaker 5: prepared me or any Miami native, frankly, for what was

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Speaker 5: on the way. It's the start of twenty ten, and

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Speaker 5: Miami was about to host its tenth Super Bowl and

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Speaker 5: second in four years. Miami as a city was comfortable

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Speaker 5: being at the center of the sports landscape, but mostly

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Speaker 5: as a host to outside teams and their fans, Fans

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Speaker 5: looking to get kissed by the sun and possibly experience

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Speaker 5: a twenty four hour nightclub in between cheering on their teams.

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Speaker 6: Rare was the occasion.

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Speaker 5: Where Miami's own sports would garner the type of attention

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Speaker 5: that caught the nation's eye for any length of time,

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Speaker 5: and in twenty ten, Miami was in one of those

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Speaker 5: sleepy sports cycles where there wasn't much to look at.

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Speaker 5: The Florida Panthers were in the midst of their ninth

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Speaker 5: straight season missing the playoffs. The Florida Marlins were only

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Speaker 5: seven years removed from a second World Series in team history,

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Speaker 5: but were about to start a seventh straight season without

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Speaker 5: reaching the postseason again. And the Miami Dolphins were in

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Speaker 5: the second year of a seven year stretch with no playoffs.

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Speaker 5: Then there were the Miami Heat. The Heat had won

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Speaker 5: the championship in two thousand and six in the second

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Speaker 5: season after Shaquille O'Neill blessed the town with championship legitimacy,

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Speaker 5: and in the third season of now superstar Dwayne Wade,

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Speaker 5: who the Heat drafted in two thousand and three, But

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Speaker 5: that flash of sports supremacy faded quickly as Shak's relationship

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Speaker 5: with the organization deteriorated, and he was traded to Phoenix

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Speaker 5: in two thousand and eight after only three plus seasons

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Speaker 5: with the Heat. In the few years that followed their championship,

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Speaker 5: Wade had won a scoring title in two thousand and

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Speaker 5: nine and was third in MVP voting. He was matching

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Speaker 5: or surpassing the best players in the league with his performances,

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Speaker 5: but he also happened to play the same shooting guard

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Speaker 5: position as Kobe Bryant, the Lakers legend who had won

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Speaker 5: four titles that would win his fifth in twenty ten.

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Speaker 5: Even as Wade was leading the eight Olympic team in scoring,

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Speaker 5: it was Kobe who received most of the adoration and

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Speaker 5: all of the starting nods for the gold medal winning

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Speaker 5: Redeem team. What the Miami Heat organization did over the

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Speaker 5: next four years to maximize their success with Wade, who

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Speaker 5: was still in his prime, was simply builled one of

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Speaker 5: the most dynamic, controversial, explosive, exciting, successful, and unforgettable teams

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Speaker 5: in sports history. Teaming with Wade would be Lebron James,

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Speaker 5: the game's best player, and Chris Bosh, another highly skilled

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Speaker 5: All Star with championship aspirations.

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Speaker 6: It was a joining of forces so.

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Speaker 5: Surprising it was difficult to believe it even as it

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Speaker 5: was happening. It was a team so immediately rich with

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Speaker 5: high end talent and even more pressurized expectations, it would

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Speaker 5: almost be impossible to sustain for any extended length of time.

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Speaker 5: This wasn't just about an organization cashing in while it

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Speaker 5: could for some additional gold trophies. It was now about

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Speaker 5: a responsibility to the game of basketball to make sure

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Speaker 5: this worked. To make sure Lebron, a player who many

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Speaker 5: already predicted could rival the greatest of all time, would

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Speaker 5: finally break through and start his run toward basketball immortality

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Speaker 5: that only can truly begin with an NBA championship, to

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Speaker 5: make sure Wade and Bosh cement their Hall of Fame

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Speaker 5: careers with multiple rings. It was a team that, if

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Speaker 5: it worked, would revive a city and more importantly, empower

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Speaker 5: and encourage other players to take more control of their

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Speaker 5: careers and change the NBA forever. And little did anyone

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Speaker 5: really know at the time, but Miami would have a

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Speaker 5: limited amount of time to complete all of that.

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Speaker 6: Four years of.

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Speaker 5: Heat and yes, I said the name of the podcast,

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Speaker 5: four years of a team that ran so hot it

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Speaker 5: probably couldn't last much longer than it actually did. Dan

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Speaker 5: Lebttard has been writing and talking about sports in his

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Speaker 5: hometown of Miami for portions.

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Speaker 6: Of four decades.

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Speaker 5: He's attended the University of Miami. He's written for the

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Speaker 5: Miami Herald, written and worked on television and radio for ESPN,

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Speaker 5: and currently is running his own media company, meatal Ark Media,

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Speaker 5: highlighted by its signature podcast, The Dan Lebotard Show with

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Speaker 5: Stu Goatts. There might not be a better person to

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Speaker 5: paint the picture of the Miami sports landscape than Lebtard.

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Speaker 5: The Heat had experienced the most consistent success of the

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Speaker 5: pro sports teams in town, but not enough to stand

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Speaker 5: out amongst more established winners.

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Speaker 7: Miami had established itself as a town that had at

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Speaker 7: Riley and before Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and

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Speaker 7: so there had been some winning, but basketball was not

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Speaker 7: dominating this town. Even in failure, which the Dolphins had

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Speaker 7: plenty of, the Dolphins were still the thing in the

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Speaker 7: town and the star power of the team. The furthest

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Speaker 7: it went was Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Those were

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Speaker 7: the successful teams, the ones that would always die at

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Speaker 7: Michael Jordan's doorstep. It wasn't a champion, It was largely

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Speaker 7: a regional team, not a national one, and locally, this

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Speaker 7: was absolutely not a basketball town. Liked basketball, but basketball

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Speaker 7: probably was behind baseball and football.

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Speaker 5: Back then, Wade had known the ultimate success, both as

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Speaker 5: an individual and with his team, but in his seventh

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Speaker 5: NBA season, he'd been chasing that championship feeling again for

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Speaker 5: a few years now. A seven game first round series

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Speaker 5: lost to the Atlanta Hawks and nine was nice, but

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Speaker 5: nowhere near the thrill he'd get from facing those Detroit

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Speaker 5: Pistons teams deep into the playoffs just a few years prior.

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Speaker 8: Shot Cock is off.

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Speaker 9: We'll dribble it out.

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Speaker 6: For the first time in franchise history.

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Speaker 10: The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals.

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Speaker 5: Wade knew what basketball at its highest level felt like.

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Speaker 5: He wanted that again, and there was one game in

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Speaker 5: particular in twenty ten, in the middle of a season

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Speaker 5: that was far short of special from Miami that reminded

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Speaker 5: him of what that felt like and maybe even gave

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Speaker 5: us a glimpse of what kind of basketball wizardry was

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Speaker 5: headed toward the three to zero five. It was a

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Speaker 5: game between the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers and what was

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Speaker 5: then still called American Airlines Arena, and it featured a

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Speaker 5: matchup of redeemed team pals Wade and Lebron James.

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Speaker 4: I still talk about that game today when people asked me, like,

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Speaker 4: what was your favorite kind of game in the NBA?

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Speaker 5: That's all Mario Vernard Chalmers. You might just know him

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Speaker 5: as Mario Chalmers, a collegiate champion at Kansas who was

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Speaker 5: in his second year in the league in twenty ten

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Speaker 5: and started about a quarter of the Heats games at

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Speaker 5: point guard.

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Speaker 4: And that was like the one time I felt myself

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Speaker 4: as a player being in the moment and I'll just

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Speaker 4: want to watch, like I don't I don't want to

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Speaker 4: do anything but watch Lebron go this way, d Wade

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Speaker 4: go that way. And that's what I was just like, Wow,

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Speaker 4: He's like, this is what it takes to be a

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Speaker 4: superstar league. This is why these guys are stars, And

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Speaker 4: like I was really starstruck in that moment in the.

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Speaker 5: Game That game was on January twenty fifth, twenty ten.

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Speaker 5: Wade in the Heat were in the middle of a

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Speaker 5: forty seven wins season that would earn them the fifth

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Speaker 5: seed in the playoffs, while Lebron was in the midst

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Speaker 5: of his second straight MVP season on a Cabs team

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Speaker 5: that would lead the league with sixty one wins. There

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Speaker 5: wasn't quite love in the air that night, but there

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Speaker 5: wasn't nearly as much venom for an opponent as usual.

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Speaker 5: In fact, it would be Lebron's last visit to Miami

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Speaker 5: before his free agency that offseason, so the fans were

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Speaker 5: a little extra friendly to help court the King a

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Speaker 5: few months early, bringing signs that would hope to get

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Speaker 5: his attention. A few of the signs looked professionally executed,

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Speaker 5: with the most memorable one being a fake Facebook page

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Speaker 5: with Lebron's status as in the relationship with the Miami Heat.

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Speaker 5: A little more than halfway through the second quarter, Wade

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Speaker 5: and James put on a back and forth duel.

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Speaker 6: That builds legends.

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Speaker 5: This was the jaw dropping stretch of game Chalmers was

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Speaker 5: talking about. James and Wade already had a few moments

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Speaker 5: in this showcase of stars but with five eleven left

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Speaker 5: in the first half, Lebron unknowingly started the memorable exchange

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Speaker 5: by dunking on Wade and.

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Speaker 11: Another steal this hoop by Paris show here comes James again.

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Speaker 11: The freak trainers left the state to exports for the

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Speaker 11: term of foul on Twainne Wade.

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Speaker 10: Oh my Wade was float.

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Speaker 6: He was going up for a light up.

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Speaker 11: Lebron dunked the ball, Wade jumped up with two hands

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Speaker 11: trying to block it.

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Speaker 10: He gets the foul.

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Speaker 6: What a move by Lebron.

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Speaker 11: James, giving the Cavaliers their first lead of the game,

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Speaker 11: a nineteen to four run, and the explosion by James.

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Speaker 12: Wow.

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Speaker 5: Wade never took well to being on the wrong end

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Speaker 5: of a highlight play, so the very next play he

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Speaker 5: drew foul and hit two free throws.

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Speaker 6: After that, a pair of.

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Speaker 5: Lebron free throws, and then two of the most dynamic

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Speaker 5: athletes in the game decided to put on a shooting

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Speaker 5: display that gave this regular season game an all star field.

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Speaker 11: Oh baby, three point offul way that he got bowled.

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Speaker 11: Oh James answers back with a free ball, and with

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Speaker 11: these two guys, it's anything you can do. I can

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Speaker 11: do better. It's on a game, coach, and it started early.

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Speaker 11: Wade with twenty three, James with sixteen. Here he goes again.

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Speaker 5: Oh man, the crowd trying to egg on Dwayne Wade

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Speaker 5: just should come back again.

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Speaker 11: Now Here it comes, Wade colliding with Vanish out one

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Speaker 11: of the great individual shows you will ever see. It's

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Speaker 11: an instant classic shot clock at six Wade against Parker.

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Speaker 11: There's a three, and there's your third baby. Oh man,

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Speaker 11: who Dwayne Wade's best scoring half of the year, thirty?

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Speaker 11: Here he goes three on the way and what else

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Speaker 11: would you expect? What else would you expect from Lebron

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Speaker 11: James their way from the backcourt.

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Speaker 6: Oh man, don't take your eye off this game.

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Speaker 11: Wade and James sheer smile and how could you not

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Speaker 11: enjoy it?

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Speaker 13: Right along with.

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Speaker 5: Him, Wade literally skipped off the floor on his way

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Speaker 5: to the halftime locker room after sharing a glance and

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Speaker 5: a smile with Lebron. That high level of basketball he'd

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Speaker 5: been so familiar with was back on that Monday night

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Speaker 5: in Miami, and his friend Lebron providing all the counterpunches

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Speaker 5: made him feel alive again.

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Speaker 14: You know, their competition is great at then they you know,

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Speaker 14: we understand it's a team game, you know, and I

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Speaker 14: think second hand I proved there. But you know, it's

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Speaker 14: moments within the game where you know, you take on

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Speaker 14: the competition of it. You know, it's it's it's a

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Speaker 14: little bit of anything you can do, I can do better,

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Speaker 14: you know, count of competition for a little while, and

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Speaker 14: it's fun for the fans. And you know, long as

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Speaker 14: we're not doing anything outside of what our team wants

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Speaker 14: to do, it's good for our team. So, you know,

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Speaker 14: probably one of the best second quarters that I've had,

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Speaker 14: and you know, just back and forth was good.

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Speaker 11: Four point one seconds left of the fourth quarter, Miami

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Speaker 11: trailing ninety two to ninety one. He will have Clinton

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Speaker 11: Richardson in bound. He's got Jermaine o'nial all stood Wade

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Speaker 11: at Haslam and here we go. Wade catches it guarded

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Speaker 11: by James for the win, Miami's fifth one point game

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Speaker 11: and their second one point loss.

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Speaker 5: Wade in the home crowd left slightly disappointed, but feeling

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Speaker 5: like they'd made their point to one Lebron James.

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Speaker 6: Fast forward to the end of that season. The Heat

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Speaker 6: had just.

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Speaker 5: Been knocked out of the playoffs as the number five

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Speaker 5: seed by the fourth seeded Boston Celtics. It was the

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Speaker 5: second consecutive first round exit from Miami, and this one

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Speaker 5: didn't even include the seven game drama that the previous

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Speaker 5: year series against Atlanta managed. In five games, Wade had

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Speaker 5: just averaged thirty three point two points on fifty six

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Speaker 5: percent shooting, including forty percent from three, with six point

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Speaker 5: eight assists five point six rebounds, but could manage only

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Speaker 5: one win in the series against the Celtics. On the

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Speaker 5: postgame podium in a makeshift press conference in the bowels

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Speaker 5: of Boston's TD Garden, Wade made a declaration so confident

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Speaker 5: it had some wondering if that was more than just

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Speaker 5: a superstar believing in himself.

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Speaker 14: H Like I said before the playoffs started, this this

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Speaker 14: playoff run and drive, I had no indication on my decision.

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Speaker 14: I'm going for Well, this will be my last first

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Speaker 14: round exit for a while, I'll tell you that. So

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Speaker 14: I'm looking forward to, you know, continue to build and

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Speaker 14: being with some great players next year.

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Speaker 5: Tim Reynolds has been covering the Miami Heat since the

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Speaker 5: two thousand and two oh three season, the last before

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Speaker 5: Wade was drafted. By this point, he'd grown close enough

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Speaker 5: to Wade to know there was extra meaning behind that statement.

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Speaker 2: When Dames staffer at the podium in Boston and said that,

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Speaker 2: I'm like, hmm, okay, there's something to it.

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Speaker 5: Two rounds later, there was another disappointed superstar sending signals.

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Speaker 5: The Celtics had just knocked Lebron James out of the

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Speaker 5: playoffs in six games. James was playing through a bulky

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Speaker 5: elbow and ended the deciding Game six with twenty seven points,

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Speaker 5: nineteen rebounds, ten assists, and nine turnos, but.

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Speaker 6: Boston Selfix were the huge upset. They advanced to the conference.

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Speaker 10: Finals, and Lebron james season is over?

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Speaker 6: Is his career in Cleveland over?

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Speaker 5: As he walked off the floor and into the tunnel

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Speaker 5: leading to the Cavs locker room, James took off his

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Speaker 5: Cavalier's jersey, and once he entered the locker room, casually

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Speaker 5: flipped it to an attendant.

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Speaker 11: Cleveland fans wondering if that's the last time he'll take

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Speaker 11: off a Cavalier jersey?

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Speaker 6: What did it mean? Everyone wanted to know.

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Speaker 5: In less than two months time, Lebron would be an

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Speaker 5: unrestricted free agent for the first time. Following seven years

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Speaker 5: in Cleveland, his adopted city after growing up in nearby Akron, Ohio,

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Speaker 5: James would have to make the most difficult decision of

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Speaker 5: his professional career, the answer to the.

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Speaker 15: Question everybody wants to know, Lebron, What's your decision?

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Speaker 6: Jim Gray is a media sports legend.

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Speaker 5: He's interviewed icons of sports like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan,

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Speaker 5: Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Kobe.

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Speaker 6: Bryant, and Mike Tyson.

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Speaker 5: Once famously, with a broken back spinal, he wrote a

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Speaker 5: book called Talking to Goats, The Moments You Remember and

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Speaker 5: the Stories You Never Heard, and among the subjects was Lebron.

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Speaker 5: James Gray had known Lebron from his days covering him

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Speaker 5: in high school to his early NBA days. Gray would

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Speaker 5: also fly to Lebron's hometown of Akron, Ohio to cover

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Speaker 5: the annual PGA Firestone Golf Tournament, where he would also

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Speaker 5: visit with Maverick Carter, Lebron's longtime friend and business manager

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Speaker 5: since two thousand and six, and other associates of Lebron,

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Speaker 5: including the other founders of their agency and sports marketing firm,

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Speaker 5: lrimr Rich Paul and Randy Mims. Of all the interviews

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Speaker 5: Gray has completed in his career. He would have one

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Speaker 5: nationally televised event with Lebron that would become one of

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Speaker 5: his most controversial. James chose to air his free agency

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Speaker 5: decision live on ESPN the evening of July eighth, twenty ten,

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Speaker 5: in the form of a one hour special. The Decision,

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Speaker 5: as the show was called, peaked at more than thirteen

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Speaker 5: million viewers. As Lebron would announce his choice. About halfway

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Speaker 5: into the special, I talked with Jim about how that

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Speaker 5: option came about and whether or not he thought that

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Speaker 5: interview would set in motion such a wave of hatred

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Speaker 5: toward the best basketball player in the game. It began

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Speaker 5: with a conversation at an NBA Finals game in Los

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Speaker 5: Angeles in twenty ten between Gray and Carter.

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Speaker 12: I just saw Maverick Carter that evening of a playoff

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Speaker 12: game sitting with Ari Emmanuel, who was the head of

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Speaker 12: William Morris Endeavor, And they were sitting in Ari's front

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Speaker 12: row seats and the Lakers were playing, and I walked

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Speaker 12: down and saw him at halftime and shook his hand,

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Speaker 12: and I said, Hey, Mav, would it be possible to

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Speaker 12: do the first interview with Lebron after he chooses his team,

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Speaker 12: and he said, I would consider that, And then it

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Speaker 12: just out of nowhere, I kind of said, and you know,

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Speaker 12: perhaps we should just do an hour special and have

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Speaker 12: him announce it on the air. What's the difference between

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Speaker 12: that in a press conference? You know, let him make

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Speaker 12: his own announcement. And Ari said, that's a brilliant idea,

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Speaker 12: and Mavericks said, right then, he said, you know, we

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Speaker 12: could probably raise a bunch of money for charity.

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Speaker 5: For full context, the idea of Lebron announcing his decision

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Speaker 5: in that public a manner was mentioned in a mail

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Speaker 5: bag column by noted Boston sports fan Bill Simmons. A

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Speaker 5: reader named Drew Wagner was inspired by high school recruits

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Speaker 5: announcing their college choices live on television and recommended a

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Speaker 5: live show on ABC called Lebron's Choice. But it wouldn't

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Speaker 5: be Simmons who executed the plan. Gray brought it up

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Speaker 5: to Carter at that Finals game, and Carter convinced Lebron

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Speaker 5: to do it, while the Manual pitched the idea to

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Speaker 5: then ESPN president John Skipper.

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Speaker 12: We had an opportunity to possibly put it on NBC

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Speaker 12: because I had worked at NBC on the NBA for

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Speaker 12: a long time, and Maverick ultimately felt that it should

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Speaker 12: be with one of the NBA carriers ESPN, ABC or Turner,

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Speaker 12: and that was fine, and so they eventually worked something

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Speaker 12: out with ESPN and with John Skipper to take over

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Speaker 12: the time, and we raised six and a half million

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Speaker 12: dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and

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Speaker 12: it's still, i believe, to this day, the largest contribution

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Speaker 12: that has ever been made to that organization and has

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Speaker 12: helped the lives of countless, hundreds of thousands of kids.

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Speaker 12: Skipper was very young ho because he knew the amount

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Speaker 12: of attention that this was going to garner and he

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Speaker 12: was one hundred percent behind that because it represented the

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Speaker 12: largest audience they'd ever had for a television show, not

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Speaker 12: for a live event, for a television show, which which

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Speaker 12: I believe still holds up to this day, for a show,

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Speaker 12: you know, not to be confused with a Monday night

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Speaker 12: football game or perhaps an NBA you know, playoff game

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Speaker 12: or something of that ill, but for a one off

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Speaker 12: show for that hour.

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Speaker 16: You know, he knew just how much people would watch.

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Speaker 12: It, and he knew, you know, that it would be

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Speaker 12: it would be must see TV.

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Speaker 5: ESPN assigned Gray a producer he was familiar with, and

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Speaker 5: they went over Gray's interview, questions and plans for the show.

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Speaker 5: The next day, Gray met with Lebron and his associates

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Speaker 5: for some promotional photos and then drove from a nearby

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Speaker 5: home to the Boys and Girls Club in Gretich, Connecticut.

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Speaker 5: With them was Lebron's then girlfriend and now wife, Savannah Brinson.

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Speaker 5: Gray said the ride was largely quiet, in part because

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Speaker 5: he himself asked not to know what team Lebron was

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Speaker 5: choosing ahead of time.

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Speaker 12: I did not want to know what his decision was.

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Speaker 12: I intentionally told Maverick, told Lebron and told Leon Rose,

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Speaker 12: do not tell me because I didn't want to know.

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Speaker 16: I wanted it to be real, at least from my end.

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Speaker 12: And I also didn't want to be the one who

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Speaker 12: accidentally blurts this out, because anything can happen. You know,

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Speaker 12: somebody's talking to your So I just didn't want to know.

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Speaker 12: I wanted to know when the audience knew.

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Speaker 6: Quick pause, we already know.

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Speaker 5: There's no way to truly have predicted how negative the

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Speaker 5: response was to Lebron airing this decision. The purity of

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Speaker 5: the idea raising millions for the Boys and Girls Club

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Speaker 5: of America while announcing information everyone is dying to know.

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Speaker 5: It's really hard to dispute. How could anyone truly see

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Speaker 5: the level of vitriol that would follow such a selfless

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Speaker 5: act of charity. Well, a few folks did. Jackie McMullen

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Speaker 5: was one. Jackie is a now retired NBA writer who

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Speaker 5: worked for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and ESPN, among

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Speaker 5: other media outlets along the way. She not only saw

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Speaker 5: that an hour special for a ten second announcement seemed

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Speaker 5: like ego inflated overkill, but she called the move unfathomable

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Speaker 5: on ESPN News the night before the decision.

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Speaker 17: I was actually in Bristol, Connecticut for a couple of

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Speaker 17: days in advance of the decision, and I remember going

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Speaker 17: on the air I think it was live, and saying,

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Speaker 17: don't do this. The self importance of thinking that your

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Speaker 17: decision is more important than any decision ever made in

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Speaker 17: the history of the NBA. Now think about it. At

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Speaker 17: that point, Lebron has won exactly nothing. Now he's gone

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Speaker 17: on to be arguably the greatest or one of the greatest,

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Speaker 17: depending on where you land. Players of all time. He

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Speaker 17: certainly proved us wrong in terms of his own self worth.

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Speaker 17: If you will, and you know, but in that moment,

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Speaker 17: do not tell Cleveland what you were doing until moments

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Speaker 17: before you told everybody else, or in some cases, I

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Speaker 17: think moments after you told everybody else. I just didn't

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Speaker 17: understand the logic behind that.

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Speaker 5: Just one day before the decision, Dwayne Wade and Chris

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Speaker 5: Bosh had already announced their free agency choice. They did

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Speaker 5: it live on ESPN exclusively in an interview with a

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Speaker 5: respected journalist, Michael Wilbot. They announced they'd be playing in Miami, Wade,

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Speaker 5: of course, resigning, and Bosh leaving Toronto, the only team

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Speaker 5: he'd known for seven seasons. Sound familiar.

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Speaker 18: We're gonna cut right to the chase, Dwayne and Chris.

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Speaker 16: Dwayne will start with you, where are you gonna be

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Speaker 16: playing next season?

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Speaker 13: Well, I'm back in Miami, man, I'm back in as now.

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Speaker 14: So now I'm back in Wade County, back.

439
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 16: In Miami with the heat.

440
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:51,720
Speaker 11: Chris, you want to jump in and tell us where

441
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:52,640
Speaker 11: you're gonna be as well.

442
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:59,440
Speaker 13: Yeah, I'm joining mister Wade in Miami. These final decisions, God,

443
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:00,080
Speaker 13: you don't have to say, go.

444
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 8: On until tomorrow.

445
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:01,960
Speaker 16: Is there we will room?

446
00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 12: Could somebody else come and steal you between now and then?

447
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,120
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean I'm fine. I think we're both fine

448
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 13: with this situation. We wanted to play with each other

449
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 13: and we have a golden opportunity to do that. So, uh,

450
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 13: we're going to take advantage of him.

451
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,040
Speaker 6: And thanks to ESPN for that clip.

452
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 5: They didn't raise money for charity with the announcement, but

453
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,200
Speaker 5: it was just fifteen minutes, still longer than it needed

454
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,520
Speaker 5: to be, and it got no such negative public reaction

455
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,600
Speaker 5: that would all be saved up for Lebron regardless. And

456
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,399
Speaker 5: Gray could see in Lebron's eyes that evening that he

457
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,200
Speaker 5: felt the weight of his words.

458
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:48,560
Speaker 12: And I could see that Lebron was pensive. I could

459
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:53,280
Speaker 12: see that, you know, he wasn't nervous, and he wasn't anxious,

460
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,359
Speaker 12: but you could see that there was a lot on

461
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,640
Speaker 12: his mind and that this weight was going to be

462
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,680
Speaker 12: lifted from his shoulders, or that that that he was

463
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,000
Speaker 12: going to have to carry was going to get heavier.

464
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 12: So you know, it was really really a juxtaposition because

465
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,400
Speaker 12: it could be one or the other.

466
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,480
Speaker 5: If this was some ego soaked choice for Lebron. It

467
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,480
Speaker 5: certainly didn't come across on camera. He sounded careful and

468
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,840
Speaker 5: looked like he wanted no real part of the cameras.

469
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,439
Speaker 15: The answer to the question everybody wants to know, Lebron,

470
00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:24,680
Speaker 15: what's your decision?

471
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 9: And this fall, man, it's very tough, And this fall,

472
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,280
Speaker 9: I'm gonna take my talents to Southern Beach and join

473
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 9: the Miami Heat.

474
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,359
Speaker 15: Miami Heat. That was the conclusion he woke up with

475
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:37,840
Speaker 15: this morning.

476
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 9: That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.

477
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 6: Thanks again to ESPN for that sound.

478
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,640
Speaker 5: His choice of words were famously mocked, despite the fact

479
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,240
Speaker 5: that the taking my talents phrasing was just him parroting

480
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 5: his good pal and respected vet Kobe Bryant's words from

481
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,400
Speaker 5: when he left high school and announced his NBA plans.

482
00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:11,080
Speaker 18: Kobe Bryant, I've decided my talents to no I had

483
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 18: decided to skip college and take my talent in the NBA.

484
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,600
Speaker 5: Well, it's hard to imagine even Lebron would be prepared

485
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 5: for a nation of sports fans to temporarily despise him.

486
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 5: Gray believes Lebron's destination of choice was a source of comfort.

487
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,640
Speaker 16: Not knowing how it was going to be received.

488
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 12: Obviously, I think he was very happy because he was

489
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,479
Speaker 12: going to a place that he wanted to go.

490
00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 16: He had made that decision to.

491
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:41,680
Speaker 12: Go with with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and pat

492
00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 12: Riley and the Miami Heat and to move on from

493
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,040
Speaker 12: territory that he had been in his entire life and

494
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,679
Speaker 12: things that were very comfortable, and he was, you know,

495
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,000
Speaker 12: going to take that next step. And in many ways

496
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 12: it was you know, the recruiting that he had never

497
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 12: had because he didn't participate in college and go through

498
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,080
Speaker 12: all of that. And it was also you know, this

499
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:12,119
Speaker 12: was the moment of player empowerment. Okay, he took over

500
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,160
Speaker 12: his own rights and with that, as the most powerful

501
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 12: and best player in the NBA, he carried the entire

502
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 12: Players Association and everybody else with him. Everybody was, you know,

503
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,919
Speaker 12: at his mercy and so he took all of the

504
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,040
Speaker 12: slings and arrows for that. And you have to take

505
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,439
Speaker 12: into account the fans are hurt in Cleveland, and we

506
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,840
Speaker 12: could have done better for the fans in Cleveland, and

507
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,200
Speaker 12: we could have been more sensitive to the feelings that

508
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 12: they were having of abandonment and of losing you know,

509
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,720
Speaker 12: their their homegrown Son. So yeah, there were areas where

510
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 12: we certainly could have done better, but overall, looking back

511
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:58,480
Speaker 12: on that show, it was landmark, It was precedent setting,

512
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:00,600
Speaker 12: and it changed.

513
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 16: The whole paradigm.

514
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,200
Speaker 5: Paradigm shifts didn't stop with just free agency announcements. The

515
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,200
Speaker 5: whole NBA model had shifted. Suddenly, even the best player

516
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 5: in the sport playing for an organization closest to his

517
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:17,120
Speaker 5: hometown could leave for another organization and possibly plan ahead

518
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,600
Speaker 5: for that to happen, reaching across the country, across the

519
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:25,880
Speaker 5: continent to select new superstar teammates, then choosing the organization

520
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 5: best suited to house them. All that was new, and

521
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 5: it was a start. Contrast to the Chicago bulls archetype

522
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 5: went it with Michael Jordan as the clear best player

523
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 5: and do it for the organization that drafted you. This

524
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:44,080
Speaker 5: Miami Heat collection was all already starting to feel unfair, unnecessary,

525
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:48,480
Speaker 5: even for a player of Lebron's caliber. Then, with less

526
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,160
Speaker 5: than twenty four hours to digest what just happened to

527
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,160
Speaker 5: NBA basketball, and while most people outside of Scorn Cleveland

528
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 5: were still fully forming their opinions on the matter, the

529
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,800
Speaker 5: Heat and their news signees would do something that would

530
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 5: spread insufferable thoughts to the rest of the country.

531
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:12,000
Speaker 11: They celebrated not one championship, not lebron tell us about.

532
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,560
Speaker 9: That, not two, not three, not four, not five.

533
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,960
Speaker 5: James, Wade, and Boss were all in Miami, both to

534
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,720
Speaker 5: party at a South Florida nightclub into the early morning

535
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 5: on July ninth, and to rejoice with fans inside American

536
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 5: Airlines Arena for a presentation and interview. Everywhere inside and

537
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 5: outside the arena, fans held signs with the three superstars

538
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 5: pictured and a slogan that played off President Barack Obama's

539
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,920
Speaker 5: two thousand and eight campaign slogan yes we can reading

540
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:53,160
Speaker 5: Yes we Did. After what seemed like hours of fans

541
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,120
Speaker 5: gathering in the arena to a constant buzz of excitement

542
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,880
Speaker 5: and random chance, the Miami Heats three game changing free

543
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,720
Speaker 5: agents signings were brought onto the stage from a platform underneath.

544
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,440
Speaker 5: Bosh's reaction upon seeing the crowd was to let out

545
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,520
Speaker 5: a roar that would become his signature celebratory move in Miami.

546
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,800
Speaker 5: He soaked it all in, not even considering the consequences

547
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 5: at the time.

548
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:18,120
Speaker 6: Neither did the heat.

549
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,480
Speaker 5: Frankly, because that party wasn't planned to announce all three

550
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 5: of those players. It wasn't put together in less than

551
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,680
Speaker 5: twenty four hours. It was put together weeks earlier to

552
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 5: announce the signing of Wade. That wouldn't have felt anything

553
00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,880
Speaker 5: like this did. All that was missing in this celebration

554
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,600
Speaker 5: in the minds of critics were actual Larry O'Brien championship

555
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:44,760
Speaker 5: trophies for what was such a premature celebration. You want

556
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 5: to know if people were assuming too much success once

557
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,760
Speaker 5: these three joint forces. Hip hop artist and a regular

558
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 5: at Big Miami Heat games, Flow Rida, dropped a song

559
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,640
Speaker 5: called we already won right after the announcements.

560
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,520
Speaker 6: We already what. They don't neither play norball game.

561
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 5: Man, you say, it was a night intended just for

562
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,000
Speaker 5: Miami to celebrate something that just doesn't happen to this city,

563
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 5: at least not in terms of sports, and in that moment,

564
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,000
Speaker 5: the Heat's players were in a bubble of support. Still

565
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,760
Speaker 5: in the clouds over the previous twenty some hours of

566
00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:27,400
Speaker 5: celebration for Bosh, the regrets were there, but certainly not immediately.

567
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 5: Bosh spoke with JJ Reddick about that night on his

568
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 5: Old Man in the Three podcast.

569
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,680
Speaker 10: I've always wanted to ask one of you guys, do

570
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,840
Speaker 10: you guys ever regret or have you ever talked about

571
00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,360
Speaker 10: doing the victory parade?

572
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:42,719
Speaker 12: Uh?

573
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:45,520
Speaker 10: Before you guys ever played a game together when you

574
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,160
Speaker 10: guys all came out on stage, like, was that a

575
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,360
Speaker 10: mistake in retrospect? Was maybe that brought a little bit

576
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,120
Speaker 10: of that animosity on you.

577
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,360
Speaker 8: Can look at it. Yeah, yeah, the animosity totally one

578
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:02,200
Speaker 8: hundred percent. But people have to understand we didn't organize that.

579
00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:07,200
Speaker 8: If they said, Yo, we're signing JJ Reddick tomorrow and

580
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 8: it's twenty thousand people there, you're not going to be like, nah,

581
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:15,720
Speaker 8: let's just yo. No, hey, pull the plug. No, we're

582
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:17,720
Speaker 8: not doing this. You're not going to do that. We

583
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 8: went right along with everything that was going on, and

584
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,440
Speaker 8: I just found out that the only reason that stage

585
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,160
Speaker 8: was there is because I think I forgot who had

586
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 8: a concert. Somebody had a concert. Was in between concerts.

587
00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:32,800
Speaker 8: They were doing three days or something like that, a

588
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,240
Speaker 8: three day stretch, so the stage was still there.

589
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,000
Speaker 16: So we got there.

590
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 8: They're like, yo, yeah, but come on bro, They like Yo,

591
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,480
Speaker 8: we get there, They're like, Yo, look we got the stage.

592
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:45,880
Speaker 8: You guys coming up right here. I'm like, oh my god,

593
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,720
Speaker 8: it's like your dreams coming true.

594
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:48,680
Speaker 13: You know.

595
00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:58,480
Speaker 8: With that said, we did not empathize or even consider.

596
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,920
Speaker 8: It was like Miami was a bubble bro. We didn't

597
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,600
Speaker 8: think of anything outside. We were just like stage hell yeah,

598
00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:12,600
Speaker 8: interview nailed it. I mean, well it yeah bro, he

599
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,360
Speaker 8: you know, went right. It was just bro thing to

600
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:19,080
Speaker 8: think parties legendary, you know what I mean. We're living

601
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:20,759
Speaker 8: out of a hotel, you.

602
00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:21,520
Speaker 17: Know, it was.

603
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,080
Speaker 8: It was just crazy, man. It was just a crazy time.

604
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,760
Speaker 8: And then about two days after all that stuff happened,

605
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,480
Speaker 8: that's when the smoke cleared and we kind of figured like, oh,

606
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:32,600
Speaker 8: they didn't like that.

607
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,359
Speaker 5: Actually, there was still a slight delay before Bosh could

608
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,680
Speaker 5: watch his dreams come true the way a rock star

609
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:43,240
Speaker 5: would in his first headlining tour for one. Basketball normally

610
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:45,399
Speaker 5: needs five guys on the court at any given time,

611
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:47,960
Speaker 5: and these three needed some teammates.

612
00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:49,560
Speaker 6: They all wanted to.

613
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,720
Speaker 5: Play with heat fixture and champion you Donnis Haslm as well.

614
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,160
Speaker 5: HASLM was a coveted free agent at the time, and

615
00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,239
Speaker 5: it received a healthy offer from the Denver Nuggets, who

616
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,520
Speaker 5: featured another good friend of James and Wade's, Carmelo Anthony

617
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,800
Speaker 5: A Miami native and loyal to his corps.

618
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:07,720
Speaker 6: Haslam was actually.

619
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,520
Speaker 5: Heading to Miami's arena to eventually tell the Heats front

620
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 5: office personnel that he'd be taking the deal from Denver

621
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,680
Speaker 5: and moving on for Miami because the organization didn't have

622
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,520
Speaker 5: enough money left under the salary cap structure to resign him.

623
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:23,479
Speaker 5: Then he got a call from his agent, the late

624
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,400
Speaker 5: Henry Thomas, who was also Bosh and Wade's agent. Thomas

625
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:29,560
Speaker 5: told him when he arrived at the arena to sit

626
00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,840
Speaker 5: in his car for about thirty minutes while he sorted

627
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 5: some things out. As it turned out, Wade had reached

628
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,640
Speaker 5: out and tried to figure out how much money the

629
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 5: three main players would have to give up in order

630
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 5: for the team to resign. HASLM team owner Mickey Harrison,

631
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,759
Speaker 5: general manager Andy Ellisburg, and team president pat Riley were

632
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 5: all in the building trying to hash out the numbers

633
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:51,280
Speaker 5: on the day of the celebration.

634
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:53,560
Speaker 6: Here's Tim Reynolds again.

635
00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,160
Speaker 2: One of the reasons why the party started so late.

636
00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:03,120
Speaker 2: They're upstairs and either Mickey or Andy's office and they're

637
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:07,840
Speaker 2: all hashing out the money. Because you donnas had the

638
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,759
Speaker 2: Denver offer on the table. They were figuring out how

639
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,759
Speaker 2: much UD would leave on the table, and he left

640
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,200
Speaker 2: fourteen million. I think Denver offered him thirty four and

641
00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:18,640
Speaker 2: Miami Miami could only come up with twenty. So they're

642
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:21,000
Speaker 2: all giving money back to do this, do this, do this.

643
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 2: We're gonna get this. We're gonna get this, We're gonna

644
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:24,920
Speaker 2: do this. Dwayne gave back a little bit more than

645
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,439
Speaker 2: Lebron and Chris. They all work it out. They put

646
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:33,120
Speaker 2: on their their white Heat uniforms. They're going down to

647
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:38,800
Speaker 2: arena level to start this party. Finally, and somebody, I

648
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:43,680
Speaker 2: assume it was Andy, realized that Chris had not signed

649
00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:49,880
Speaker 2: everything that he needed to sign. This starts mass chaos

650
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:53,520
Speaker 2: and the party is now delayed again, so they can

651
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 2: run the paper down to Chris so he can initial

652
00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:00,560
Speaker 2: whatever form he didn't initial, because you know, the Heat

653
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,200
Speaker 2: do it all by the book. Andy is very particular

654
00:37:03,239 --> 00:37:05,719
Speaker 2: about the order of which things are signed and all that,

655
00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:07,960
Speaker 2: and for good reason. That's why he's the best at

656
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,920
Speaker 2: what he does. And then and only then after they

657
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,480
Speaker 2: got Chrystal, like you know, put the paper up on

658
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:15,719
Speaker 2: a wall and scribble whatever you have to scribble on it.

659
00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,319
Speaker 2: Then it was official. And then and only then put

660
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:19,040
Speaker 2: the party stuff.

661
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:22,360
Speaker 5: Haslam giving up millions to stay with his hometown was

662
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,359
Speaker 5: just the added fervor this gathering needed, he said. He

663
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,719
Speaker 5: immediately knew it was the right choice. Here's Eudonis.

664
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,239
Speaker 8: Everybody got their own things that they searching for. But

665
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,640
Speaker 8: if your why doesn't align with my why, I can't

666
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,680
Speaker 8: be in the locker room with you.

667
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 16: You know, so I understood that.

668
00:37:40,000 --> 00:38:06,600
Speaker 5: Okay, now it's party times for everyone outside of Miami.

669
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:11,640
Speaker 5: Those sounds were indicative of an overly brash, unnecessarily talented

670
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:15,279
Speaker 5: trio saying way too much, far too soon.

671
00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:17,359
Speaker 9: The way, we're gonna challenge each other to get better

672
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:18,880
Speaker 9: on practice once the game start.

673
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:20,480
Speaker 16: I mean it's gonna be easy.

674
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,200
Speaker 11: I mean, but we also know youth pre Kings came

675
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:29,399
Speaker 11: down here to win championships, not one championships. Lebron tell

676
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,200
Speaker 11: us about that, not two, not three.

677
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,839
Speaker 5: Not four, Lebron counting his rings before they hatched. Were

678
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,719
Speaker 5: words that would be repeated so often they'd become the

679
00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,560
Speaker 5: rallying cry for those looking to taunt heat players, particularly

680
00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:43,400
Speaker 5: James himself.

681
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:47,040
Speaker 13: Not five, not six, not seven.

682
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,479
Speaker 5: The celebration was not just universally considered over the top,

683
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,799
Speaker 5: obnoxious but entirely premature, and it set up even more

684
00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:00,760
Speaker 5: of a disconnect between Lebron and his fans. In that moment,

685
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:04,399
Speaker 5: inside that Miami bubble, the joy coming from those three

686
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 5: players and the fans celebrating with them appeared as genuine

687
00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:09,200
Speaker 5: as it.

688
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:11,040
Speaker 6: Gets in its own way.

689
00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:14,560
Speaker 5: It was actually perfect, at least according to someone like

690
00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:16,760
Speaker 5: Levittard who truly knows Miami.

691
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:18,680
Speaker 7: It seemed to me that it would be a whole

692
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,440
Speaker 7: lot more fun to win with your friends than with

693
00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,760
Speaker 7: people who weren't your friends, So why wouldn't they get together?

694
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,520
Speaker 7: But every time I raised it as a question in

695
00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,680
Speaker 7: the months preceding the free agency, everyone laughed. That may

696
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,480
Speaker 7: laughed at the idea of it because it hadn't been

697
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:37,839
Speaker 7: done and people couldn't consider or fathom the notion of

698
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,720
Speaker 7: what ended up happening, which it wasn't merely Lebron James

699
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:43,080
Speaker 7: coming here, but it was Lebron James coming here and

700
00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:46,960
Speaker 7: very much taking a little brother kind of place on

701
00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:50,840
Speaker 7: the team, allowing Dwayne Wade to lead it, allowing Dwayne

702
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:53,440
Speaker 7: Wade to be the centerpiece of the whole thing. It

703
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 7: was unusual to see even as it happened, and I'm

704
00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:57,960
Speaker 7: not sure I could believe that it was happening even

705
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,120
Speaker 7: as it happened, because I just remember some of the

706
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:05,120
Speaker 7: specifics up Dwayne was introduced last Dwayne's team, Dwayne City,

707
00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,480
Speaker 7: Dwayne's Team, Dwayne City, and I'm like, this other guy's

708
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,880
Speaker 7: better than Dwayne. Like this other guy is coming in

709
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,720
Speaker 7: and he's more famous than Dwayne, and he's coming in here,

710
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:17,160
Speaker 7: not necessarily for a subservient role, but something a lot

711
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,480
Speaker 7: different than the one that he was used to. All

712
00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,719
Speaker 7: of a sudden, you had the most interesting sports team

713
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:26,880
Speaker 7: of our lifetimes, of my career working in this market, You,

714
00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,120
Speaker 7: all of a sudden had a team that was disliked

715
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,840
Speaker 7: by the country and turned us against the world into

716
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:36,880
Speaker 7: something that made an appearance very early on with that

717
00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:41,759
Speaker 7: cartoonish stage entrance where they were celebrating the championship before

718
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:44,280
Speaker 7: they had dribbled a basketball.

719
00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:45,839
Speaker 11: Lebron On behalf.

720
00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 19: Of all of Josh Florida, thank you him, welcome. How's

721
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 19: us feel where he's uniform?

722
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,040
Speaker 9: It feels right, it feels right. And to be in

723
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:03,680
Speaker 9: this position to where does he uniform?

724
00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,040
Speaker 15: Every single night, We're gonna make the world. No, not

725
00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:08,319
Speaker 15: just this lead, We're gonna work.

726
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:10,359
Speaker 9: We're gonna make the world know that the heat is back.

727
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,840
Speaker 16: Let's get it done, man, Let's get this thing done.

728
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:33,440
Speaker 7: I just thought it was uniquely cartoonishly comically Miami. Just loud, colorful, fun, funny, ridiculous.

729
00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:31,360
Speaker 6: Just absurd.

730
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:36,600
Speaker 7: The whole thing was absurd. You had the celebration of

731
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:41,680
Speaker 7: a lifetime and all it was was three guys backstage,

732
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,040
Speaker 7: right before the crane lifted them up there signing the

733
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,919
Speaker 7: paperwork to finalize that they were actually going to get

734
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:52,200
Speaker 7: together and change what would be the next ten years

735
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:53,920
Speaker 7: of that sport.

736
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:56,799
Speaker 5: Maybe not ten years, as you might have guessed from

737
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,360
Speaker 5: the title of the pod. Four years is what Lebron

738
00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:03,760
Speaker 5: lasted Miami, But what happened in those four years became

739
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,040
Speaker 5: one of the most intriguing eras in NBA history, with

740
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:10,760
Speaker 5: so many historic moments and unforgettable details that you're bound

741
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:17,840
Speaker 5: to learn something new revisiting them. The bump was absolutely

742
00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:18,960
Speaker 5: a message.

743
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:22,840
Speaker 17: I was their courtside and I saw a battery land

744
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:23,640
Speaker 17: in front of me.

745
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:25,879
Speaker 2: Oh, they have made it mad.

746
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:30,200
Speaker 17: It was an incredible pressure cooker for those guys.

747
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,719
Speaker 4: There was no camaraderie, there was no cohesion, there was

748
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:35,040
Speaker 4: no raw Ross beat.

749
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,480
Speaker 2: It was like when the Americans beat the Soviets at

750
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:38,080
Speaker 2: Lake Plaster.

751
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:41,560
Speaker 18: As that ball left my fingers, it just felt like

752
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:42,280
Speaker 18: it floated.

753
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,360
Speaker 10: This is surreal, Like we're about to win the NBA Championship.

754
00:42:46,719 --> 00:42:49,839
Speaker 7: One title would not have been enough, not.

755
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:52,000
Speaker 8: Comparison to the Beatles, but it was like a hysteria

756
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:53,640
Speaker 8: that I had never been a part of in my

757
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:54,560
Speaker 8: ten years in the league.

758
00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:56,520
Speaker 3: When I found out that, you know, we got him

759
00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:00,160
Speaker 3: in Miami, he I was super excited, but also I

760
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:02,080
Speaker 3: was like, he's a genius.

761
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:04,080
Speaker 16: Where else would you go?

762
00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:05,680
Speaker 3: It's Miami.

763
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,520
Speaker 6: Four Years of Heat is a production of iHeartRadio and

764
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:10,120
Speaker 6: the NBA