As part of their due diligence on Chris Bosh, team president Pat Riley and the Heat brass reached out to Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, who coached Bosh and the USA basketball team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

"Coach K had mentioned that he was one of their defensive anchors for that team," Spoelstra said. "He was able to guard multiple positions and pick up their schemes. He was very vocal for that team, which surprised all of us. We didn’t know him, and he didn’t come across that way."

Bosh knows that the Beijing experience was a pivotal point in his career. He backed up Dwight Howard at center and led the team in rebounds per game after not being able to get off the bench in previous national squads.

So what made the difference? He focused his attention to defense, which makes a lot of sense when you consider the star-studded roster.

"I just thought to myself, 'How am I going to be out here on the court?'" Bosh remembered. "I knew I had to be effective by playing defense."

But the coaching staff didn’t inspire him. He motivated himself to become a better player.

"The coaching staff was saying, 'You have to do what you regularly do.'" Bosh said. "I know that was impossible. I'm on the floor with Kobe, LeBron, Dwyane and Carmelo. I'm probably not getting many touches."

So Bosh became a crucial part of an international squad that required him to play out on the perimeter and defend quicker European big men. Thriving in that role gave Bosh the confidence that he could succeed on a defensively minded team, and one that features ball dominators LeBron and Wade again.