Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Selfie With LeBron James After USA Basketball Practice Goes Viral

Shandel Richardson

Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra react on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra react on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Miami Heat of today and the past are well represented for USA Basketball this summer in Las Vegas.

They proved it by snapping one photo after Monday's Olympic practice. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra took a selfie with players Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez while former Miami star LeBron James made a cameo.

The photo quickly became an Internet sensation.

Spoelstra is one of the assistants for Team USA while Adebayo and James will compete for their country later this month in Paris. Jaquez, who enters his second NBA season, is helping them prepare as a member of the Select Team.

In Monday's scrimmage, Team USA held on for a one-point victory. The game was saved by a last-second block by Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis.

For Spoelstra and James, it was a reunion of the Big Three era. The Heat dominated the league from 2010-14 behind James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. They won two championships in four straight appearances in the NBA Finals.

Spoelstra is trying to find similar success in the post-LeBron years. He's made it to two more Finals but lost to James (Lakers) in 2020 and Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) in 2023. With Jimmy Butler aging, Adebayo and Jaquez could become the cornerstones of the franchise.

Last year Adebayo completed his third season as an All-Star while Jaquez was an All-Rookie performer.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.ย  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins.ย He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.ย  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here