NBA History: The best era for each of the 30 franchises

Miami Heat: 2010-14

The constant reshuffling of free agent superstars may be commonplace in the NBA of today, but that wasn’t the case at the start of the decade. It’s why the union of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat produced an overflow of negative emotion for the general fanbase.

Never had a trio of such talent come together of their own volition. The draft has produced some talented teams as had the trade market. Having three of the top players willingly choose to link up was a tactic that shook the league to its core, but boy was it entertaining.

The first year of the newest Big Three wasn’t without its struggles, but Miami was so talented that sometimes it didn’t matter. A run to the championships was stopped short in the Finals by the underdog Dallas Mavericks, sending the Heat into a dreadful summer with unavoidable criticism at every turn.

Failure, however, made them stronger, allowing them to bounce back with consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013, the ultimate validation for the three who faced so much hate for joining forces in the first place.

It was a four-year run that, after the beatdown at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, didn’t last as long as many had assumed nor was it as fruitful as most had expected with “only” two titles.

It’s also an era that won’t soon be forgotten. Whether it was the 27-game win streak or four straight trips to the Finals, everything the Heatles accomplished wouldn’t have been possible without the breaking of a long-standing mold of NBA free agency.