Almost a decade ago, the Miami Heat pulled off one of the biggest free agency coups in NBA history. The team left 2010 signing the top 3 free agents in the class. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh all joined forces in Miami. And the legendary Pat Riley’s recruiting tactics played a huge role in it.
Chris Bosh recalled the time when Riley put his championship rings on the table. According to Bosh, Riley gave him the 2006 championship ring with the promise Bosh will return once he won his ring. Bosh went on to win two NBA championships but never returned the ring.
“Oh, yeah, Pat brought his rings out. It looked just like a Crown Royal bag,” Bosh told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “He puts it down, like boom. Big boy talk. When he ended the meeting, Pat gave me a 2006 Heat championship ring.”
“Take it. Keep it. Give it back to me when you win one,” Riley said to Bosh.
“I still haven’t given it back,” Bosh said. “I wonder if he even remembers that? I think I mentioned it once, like, ‘Yo, do you want that ring back?’ And he said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I kept it moving.”
So now Bosh has three championship rings in his possession. Riley also used the same recruiting tactic with LeBron James. Both Bosh and James won championships in 2012 and 2013. Alongside Wade, they ended up making four NBA finals appearances before James left in 2014. Bosh played for Miami until 2016 when his career was cut short due to blood clots. Wade retired from the game in 2019.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Hit us up on the Socials:
Twitter @thescorecrow
Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Facebook at The Scorecrow
Instagram at The Scorecrow
Check out our Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Jacari McRae on Twitter @JMcRae23
Main Image Credit: [getty src=”596935456″ width=”396″ height=”594″ tld=”com”]
