As Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James sat in a chair near the baseline of the Miami Heat’s new “Culture” court following Monday’s morning shootaround at Kaseya Center, he had plenty to say about his four-year Heat experience that ended nearly a decade ago. “I learned a lot from being here. It was great times,” James said ahead of Monday night’s matchup against his former team in Miami. “Obviously, my four years here were great times. Playing for this franchise, playing under Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra], obviously me being with D-Wade [Dwyane Wade] and [Chris] Bosh and UD [Udonis Haslem] and so many other guys that we had on the court throughout the four years that we had. We did some really good things, really special things that we did here. This was definitely a big part of my career.”
James spent four seasons with the Heat from 2010 to 2014, winning two NBA championships with the organization in 2012 and 2013 in four NBA Finals appearances. He also was selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player two times while with the Heat. James left the Heat as a free agent in 2014 to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team he left to join the Heat in 2010
I think I just grew. I mean, I was 25 years old when I came here,” James continued about his Heat experience. “I was still a kid. Even though I was seven years in, I was still a kid. I came here for one reason and for one reason only, to win championships. That was my only goal. That’s the only reason that I teamed up with D-Wade and Bosh. Because I felt like I couldn’t do it in Cleveland. “So I had an opportunity to be a free agent, I did what I thought was best not only for my career but for me at that point in time. I was 25, so I come down here and I get an opportunity to learn, instill what I have learned. I know I’m a student of the game. I know I wasn’t coming down here like I didn’t know anything. I spent 25 years in Northeast Ohio. To high school and seven years with the Cavs, that was the only place that I knew. So it was a culture change for me. People talk about ‘Heat Culture,’ it was like a culture change, period. I was just changing everything about my life for the first time in my life.”
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