NBA Finals: Who Can Stop the Miami Heat Over the Next Few Years?

When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, the three vowed to win multiple championships.

Not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, James famously said when asked how many titles he would win in Miami.

After a disappointing finish in last year's NBA Finals, the Heat are finally champions with their five-game series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Heat trailed in each of the last three series, and many questioned whether or not the Big 3 would ever win a title. Some pundits, like ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, even suggested that Miami should break up the team's core and trade one of their stars.

Miami was criticized for not building the team the right way and not leaving enough room to sign good supporting players. James was criticized for cracking under pressure and not playing well in big games.

Now, the Heat are the best team in the NBA, winning the Finals with much more ease than most people expected. The Thunder were minus 165 favorites before the series started.

With the Big Three winning a title in their second season together, can Miami be stopped?

The Heat have been the favorites to win the title before the season started in each of the past two years. Now, Miami, and more specifically, James, has proven they can win under the weight of all the pressure that has been heaped upon them.

James is clearly the best player in the NBA. He's won three of the last four MVP's, and is currently playing the best basketball of his career.

The star forward has finally proven that he indeed is clutch. James improved upon his regular season numbers in the playoffs. He averaged 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists on 50 percent shooting in 23 postseason games.

One of the biggest reasons why Miami won the title was the play of their supporting cast. Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers all had standout performances against the Thunder.

Chalmers scored 25 points in Game Four and Miller went 7-8 from three-point range in Game Five to key Miami victories.

Battier was great all series along. The veteran shot 61 percent from the field, averaging 11.6 points per contest. He averaged just 4.8 points per game during the regular season.

If the Heat players, outside of the Big Three, can play like this in future postseasons, there may be no stopping them.

Dwyane Wade underperformed in the Finals, and the Heat still won in five games. The two-time NBA champion struggled, shooting just 43 percent from the field.

Wade's production dipped a little this year, but there's a good chance he was just banged up from the lockout-shortened season. He missed 17 gamed during the regular season due to injury, and wasn't at 100 percent for much of the year.

There's a good chance Wade will return back to his dominant form in the next few seasons, having much more rest in a regular schedule. If Miami won a title with a less than healthy Wade, imagine how good they can be over the next couple of years with a healthy one-two punch of James and Wade.

The NBA has a lot of talented players, but it's hard to see an Eastern Conference team giving the Heat much competition in the near future.

The Celtics are getting older and half of their core could be gone because of free agency. The Pacers finished with the third best record in the East, but they don't have a star player. The Bulls might have the best chance of stopping the Heat, but Miami showed last year that they can handle Chicago in the postseason.

Miami is not only very good, but their best players are also still in the prime of their careers. James, Wade and Bosh have been in the league for eight years, but they're all relatively young. James and Bosh are 27 and 28 respectively, while Wade turned 30 just a few months ago.

There's no reason why they shouldn't be good for a long time.

The Thunder will give the Heat competition, but the best teams in the West, the Spurs and Lakers, are led by aging stars. The Clippers and Grizzlies may be good for a while, but they have no Finals experience, which seemed to doom OKC this year.

It's possible that this could be the last championship for the Big Three, but Miami seems determined to win numerous titles.

If James and the Heat continue to play up to their capabilities, it could be a long couple of years for the rest of the NBA.