The King decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency back in 2010. He had a few teams on his list that he wanted to go to, but the team that snagged him was the Miami Heat. They formed a big three of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James. But rather than the players just performing on the court, it was all the sacrifices that the athletes made off the court that made it all possible.

The Miami Heat won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. However many players took significant pay cuts for this to happen, and they were not the main stars.

The reasons behind LeBron James’ first championship

In a recent episode of the ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast, the main conversation was about the sacrifices made by the role players that made everything come together for the Miami Heat to win a championship and for LeBron to win his first.

3-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas said, “But think about who took the pay cut. Dwyane Wade took 3 million dollars less. LeBron and Bosh took 1 million dollars less. Mike Miller turned down 30. Haslem! Haslem took that pay cut to make it all happen.“

Apparently, Udonis Haslem waited until everyone else was signed, then took what was remaining and made the ultimate sacrifice for the team. Haslem, at the time, was offered $40 million by the Denver Nuggets, but he signed for $33 million with the Heat.

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Haslem rejected 40 million, and Arenas said in the podcast that Miller declined 60 million from the Knicks. So, they rejected 100 million in total for the team.

The New York Knicks were also a team that LeBron had on his list. When the Knicks found out about this and the fact that LeBron wanted to play with Mike Miller, they offered him a mega contract. But Miller turned it down and signed with the Heat for $25 million over 5 years.

The aftermath of the sacrifices

LeBron James and the Heat won 2 championships but only a few of the teammates were rewarded for their sacrifices.

Haslem’s loyalty to the team was, of course, reciprocated. They kept him on the roster until he was 42. Although he announced his retirement earlier this year, the Miami Heat recently announced Haslem as the Vice President of Basketball Development for the team.

Mike Miller, on the other hand, did not have a good experience with the team. Although he sacrificed on and off the court for the Heat, they used the amnesty clause on Miller, who underwent hernia surgery in 2013.

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According to ESPN, this also helped the team save over $16 million in luxury tax.

What do you think of all the sacrifices made by these players to win a championship? Do you think it was worth it? Let us know in the comments!