Ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 6, LeBron James said that even if he hadn’t decided to join the Heat in the summer of 2010, he would still have been dominant.
James then jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and doubled down on the idea.
Former NBA point guard Norris Cole, who played three seasons with James on the Heat, recently said he agreed with the 38-year-old.
“Yeah, I do,” Kerr said when asked if he agreed with James’ assessment. “I mean, when he got there, he was dominant. He won the MVP twice in three years? As a player, he’s going to be dominant. I think what Miami helped him do, though, was in the little details. Build some structure on it. It’s some subtle things.”
Cole was selected in the second half of the first round of the 2011 NBA draft and spent the first three-plus seasons of his NBA career with the Heat. After Miami traded him back in 2015, the point guard played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder, leaving the NBA after playing 13 games for the latter during the 2016-17 regular season.
James spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers before teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat. Considering the Heat have made it to the NBA Finals for four straight years, the Heat have been one of the best teams in the NBA during James’ four seasons.
The Heat may have made it to the NBA Finals every season they had James, but they didn’t win a championship in all of them.
In the 2011 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat lost to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Nowitzki performed well in the championship series, eventually winning the Finals MVP award for Dallas. In the 2014 NBA Finals, the Heat were eliminated in five games by Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs.
It’s hard to argue with James and Kerr, as they believe the former would still be dominant if James never played for Miami. Even before joining the Heat, James was arguably the best player in the world and had led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals.