Inside The Heat

Iman Shumpert Thinks LeBron James ‘Ruined’ Basketball When He Joined the Heat

Former NBA player feels LeBron James’ move to Miami changed the game

Shandel Richardson

Robert Mayer/USA Today Sports
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When LeBron James decided to join the Miami Heat and play with two other superstars the summer of 2010, it created quite a stir. 

At least one former NBA player feels the move changed the NBA landscape forever. Iman Shumpert, who played 10 seasons in the league, said recently that James “ruined basketball” when he chose to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. At the time, all three were in their prime and considered top 10 players. 

The move led to Oklahoma City superstar Kevin Durant later deciding to play alongside All-Stars Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in Golden State a few years later. Shumpert made the comments on the Bootleg Kev podcast. 

“It wasn't KD,” Shumpert said. “It was Bron going to Miami. Bron knows he ruined basketball. He thought he was making it better, I get it.”

Shumpert, who has since become a reality television star after retiring from the NBA, said James impacted player loyalty to an organization. Shumpert was a teammate of James when the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. 

“I love the NBA for the loyalty I thought was there,” Shumpert said. “He basically knocked the fourth wall down.”

The Heat often get the blame for the concept of NBA “super teams” despite the Boston Celtics composing a roster of All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce a few years prior. 

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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.  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. 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.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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