This lot features a very unique piece honoring the 2011-12 World Champion Miami Heat the first NBA title for LeBron James. This beautiful black presentation trophy is a custom-designed replica of the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy. But the term “replica” does not do it justice. There is an inspirational story behind why it was created and what it represents a story covered at great lengths by the local and national media. Only 16 were made. Head coach Eric Spoelstra has one and all 15 Heat players got one. This trophy belonged to an undisclosed player (sorry it's not the President’s) and is hand-signed in shiny gold paint pen by 12 members of the 2011-12 Miami Heat: LeBron James Dwyane Wade Chris Bosh Mario Chalmers Shane Battier Udonis Haslem Mike Miller Juwan Howard Norris Cole James Jones Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman (all but Ronny Turiaf Eddy Curry and Terrell Harris).

After Miami’s gut-wrenching loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals Coach Spoelstra was looking for a way to motivate and unite his team heading into the 2012 playoffs. He took a page out of Heat team president and former head coach Pat Riley’s book. It was Riley who coined the phrase “15 Strong” for Miami’s 2005-06 championship run when Spoelstra was his main assistant. So Spoelstra ordered a black replica of the Larry O’Brien trophy [from Metro Signs Inc.] with each player’s name and jersey number. “All In” and “Together/Tough/Trust” were added on the bottom. It would take 16 wins to become NBA Champions so for each win Spoelstra drew a line at the bottom in gold marker. 16 notches became the goal and each player signed the trophy to guarantee their dedication. “I didn’t put my autograph on there” Chris Bosh said. “I put my signature.”

“It was a covenant that we made to each other the coaching staff and the players” Spoelstra said. “We committed to a handful of things. And when we weren’t producing that trophy would come out and we would remind ourselves we signed our name and were not being true to that.” Not even Riley knew about this trophy and the important pact that was made. It was a testament to one another” said LeBron James. “It helped you refocus and let you know why you were here and playing for one another.”

The motivational tactic worked as Miami rolled through the postseason and defeated Oklahoma City in the 2012 NBA Finals four games to one. The 16th line was added to Spoelstra’s trophy which he kept for himself (a mini replica version is included in this lot) to celebrate his greatest feat as a coach. “We had to see 16 of those notches before we could even get happy” said Dwyane Wade. The original trophy was such a popular memento that the Heat ordered 15 more after the Finals for each player. They each took turns signing each other's making it something far more personal than their championship rings. When the Heat visited the White House 1/4/14 to celebrate their 2nd  straight title they presented the 2013-14 version of this trophy to President Obama.

The trophy has the same exact dimensions as the standard Larry O'Brien (25" tall by 10" wide) but is instead made of a lighter weight and less durable rubber mold material. The Heat logo in white adorns the basketball top section with the aforementioned 12 player signatures. (The three players who did not sign this one were still issued their own trophy.) Each player’s name and jersey number are neatly labeled in white across the middle support section in a repeated artistic design. “ALL IN” appears on the face of the stand with “TOGETHER/TOUGH/TRUST” on all four sides of the stand rim. All structural elements and components are completely intact. There is light to moderate cracking in the black molding in some areas mainly on the back end of the mid-section and the basketball. The most noticeable cracking occurs at the adjoining section between the ball and mid-section. These minor cracks only slightly take away from the aesthetics; they appear to have no damaging effect on the internal structure. Simply repainting the cracked sections would most likely take care of it.

The trophy comes in its original black “2011-12 ALL IN” presentation box. Also included is a miniature replica version of Eric Spoelstra’s original version with the 16 notches (not signed) in its own much smaller box.

Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from JSA. COA from Metro Signs Inc. (maker of trophy).