Ex-Heat Player Admits Getting “Upset” With Erik Spoelstra for Picking LeBron James Over Ray Allen

From 2010-2014, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade led one of the most stacked squads on the Miami Heat. It was no wonder that they were a title favorite every season, given how well their roster was built.

They were not just favorites to win the championship, though. They actually delivered, winning two NBA Finals in 2012 and 2013. Had it not been for the iconic shot by Ray Allen in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals, they might have only won one.

While the play itself was legendary, it was completely unplanned. Had Bosh not hustled for the rebound, and had he not located Allen in the corner, it never would have happened. Mario Chalmers, who was the Heat's starting point guard at the time, admitted that this upset him toward head coach Erik Spoelstra.

In a recent appearance on Bleacher Report's YouTube channel, a clip of the moment was played for Chalmers. Afterward, he divulged his feelings regarding his former coach regarding that play.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was upset when Spo drew this up because I felt like we should've been running it for Ray instead of Bron," Chalmers said. "He got a great look, actually, and just missed it."

Afterward, he talked about how much preparation Allen took to be ready for such moments.

"Ray would be in practice every day back-pedaling to the corner shooting 3s," Chalmers added. "I would ask him 'why do you do that?' And he always tells me, 'you never know what type of foot-work you're going to need in any type of moment.'"

"I've seen him practice that shot so many times that he gets behind that 3 without even looking at it," he continued. "So I knew it was a good shot."

Interestingly, during the 2013 playoffs, James and Allen had nearly identical 3-point shooting stats.

LeBron James and Ray Allen Shot an Equal Number of Three-Pointers in the 2013 Playoffs

In terms of who is considered the better long-range shooter, Ray Allen is the obvious choice over LeBron James. While James eventually developed a reliable 3-pointer, the deep shot was a glaring weakness in his game early on.

In fact, in his seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before joining the Miami Heat, he only hit on 32.9 percent of his 3s. That trend continued in his first two seasons in Miami, as he hit only 34.1 percent.

Then, in 2012-13, he started really improving as a shooter. That was the first time in his career he shot over 40 percent from the arc, finishing the regular season at 40.6 percent.

His noticeable improvement was likely a major reason that Erik Spoelstra trusted him to take 3-pointers throughout the playoffs. In fact, Spo trusted James so much that he actually shot the same number of shots as Ray Allen.

In 23 games, Allen and James both took 96 shots from downtown, which led the entire team. Interestingly, Allen made only three more than James, draining 39 of his attempts.