Chris Bosh: Winning 2011 championship would have been 'worst thing' for Heat

When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade and the Heat, it was supposed to be the start of a superstar dynasty. But in their first season together, the trio struggled to live up to their potential. 

Despite walking into their NBA Finals matchup against the Dallas Mavericks as massive favorites, they were upset in six games thanks to some incredible play from Dirk Nowitzki and his teammates. But Bosh revealed recently that he is glad that they lost in 2011, as he said it forced them to mature and grow as a team.

"I felt that that probably would have been the worst thing for that team: to be successful right out of the gate," Bosh said. "I think mature-wise we wouldn't have been able to bounce back and deal with the things you have to deal with as a defending champion. I don't think we would have accepted that challenge."

It's hard to disagree with Bosh when you look at the results. The Heat would go on to win back-to-back championships against the Thunder and Spurs, living up to the impossibly high expectations they set for themselves. If they had won right away, they may have become complacent or overconfident but instead, they had to overcome adversity as a team.

While Bosh may have been overshadowed by the other members of the Heatles, he was able to put together an impressive run in Miami, eventually getting his jersey retired by the team after he finished playing in 2017.