Inside The Heat

Two Former Miami Heat Teammates Are Now Big 3 Champions

Ethan J. Skolnick|
Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers (15) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver (43) during the first quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers (15) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver (43) during the first quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

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They entered the NBA together, in 2008, both with the Miami Heat, one a first-round pick from Kansas State, the other a second-round pick from Kansas.

The second-round pick (Mario Chalmers) actually had more success with the Heat than the first-round pick (Michael Beasley) did. Chalmers started 82 games as a rookie, and stuck around for the Heat's "Big 3" era, winning championships with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013, while Beasley bounced around the league, a pure scorer without a permanent home.

Now they're both champions. As members of the Miami 305 team in the BIG3 three-on-three professional league. Not surprisingly, because of a big Chalmers shot that sealed the deal against the Chicago Triplets.

Chalmers has now won at every conceivable level, from high school in Alaska to KU (where he made a historic shot against Derrick Rose and Memphis to send championship game to overtime) to the NBA and now The BIG3 league. He won this championship with former Heat archenemy Lance Stephenson, of all people, on his side.

For Beasley, though, this has been a bit of a redemption cycle. He never had the defensive chops to stick long in the NBA, but he could score with anyone, and still can, even at age 36. Could this lead to another chance in the big league? Perhaps. He last played for the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2018-19, just 28 games in all. But it would seem that he would be a better option than some on the outer edge of NBA rotations.

The Heat, who employed him a second time after his 2010 departure, have a roster spot -- though it's hard to see Erik Spoelstra and company giving it another whirl.

For now, though, he can settle for being a champion and an MVP, something many thought he would never be.

"Promise is kept," Beasley said as he hoisted the trophy.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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