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NBA Miami Heat

LeBron James’ 5 Parting Gifts To the Miami Heat

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LeBron James’ 5 Parting Gifts To the Miami Heat

Miami Heat v Cleveland Cavaliers
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Miami Heat fans may hate for LeBron James now, but they must admit that he gave them plenty to cheer for. And no I’m not talking about the highlight dunks, the 27-game win streak or the two NBA titles and four consecutive Finals runs.

The deliberate -- and mostly inadvertent -- gifts that he left are coming in the form of 2014's surprise successes. Here's a lift of five things the South Beach crowd should thank LeBron for.

5. The Obvious

Chris Bosh Miami Heat
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5. The Obvious

Chris Bosh Miami Heat
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LeBron James’ exodus to the Cleveland Cavaliers undoubtedly opened up the lane for Chris Bosh to return to No. 1 guy status, which has resulted in him putting up his best numbers -- 21 PPG and nine RPG -- since leaving Toronto.

4. The Kids

Shabazz Napier, James Ennis
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4. The Kids

Shabazz Napier, James Ennis
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The curse of James’ departure is that the Heat are no longer the clear-cut favorites to make it to the Finals, but not being in extreme win-now mode has allowed the young guys -- James Ennis and Shabazz Napier -- to get a chance to shine.

The youth movement shows with the cut of veteran Shannon Brown for the 25-year-old Hassan Whiteside instead of letting go of promising three-point shooter Andre Dawkins.

3. The Draft

Shabazz Napier Miami Heat
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3. The Draft

Shabazz Napier Miami Heat
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Continuing on the theme of youth getting ahead, James’ general manager skills showed up great over the summer when he declared no other point guard should be taken before Napier. The Heat traded up to draft him, and he has become their closing floor general while averaging 13 PPG over the last five games.

2. Reinvention

Mario Chalmers Miami Heat
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2. Reinvention

Mario Chalmers Miami Heat
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With James in town, Mario Chalmers was the resident spot-up shooter and punching bag. Without James, he’s the aggressive shooting guard people remembered in college. In six games minus Norris Cole and Dwyane Wade, Chalmers has unleashed 20 points and seven assists per game.

1. 2016 Free Agency

Miami Heat Pat Riley
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

1. 2016 Free Agency

Miami Heat Pat Riley
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The greatest gift that Miami Heat fans can be grateful for from LeBron James is the flexibility that his runaway granted Pat Riley to set up the team for a hopeful Big Three sequel with all of the impending free agency money in 2016.

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