Right after the Heat captured the title, the one thing stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade kept saying was that last year's defeat helped them grow.

Both players' individual growth, as they said during the postgame interviews with ESPN's Stuart Scott, helped the team perform in 2012.

Wade said there was "So much pain, so much embarrassment from last season." This ultimately drove the team to success as they won four straight games to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder, culminating in a Game 5, 121-106, victory.

Wade admitted taking his first championship for granted. He was 24 then and had spoiled last season's opportunity of becoming a two-time champion.

He only had three seasons in the NBA when he won in 2006. Wade says he had not been through enough yet.

For LeBron, last season was a completely new experience.

James said he played angry and strayed away from the fundamentals, transforming him into a different player.

LeBron played like he "Had to prove everybody wrong." James also said, "I was humbled in the Finals. I really wanted it but didn't do it in the right way." 

This was proven by the way he played against the Dallas Mavericks, averaging less than 18 points in six Finals games.

Had James stayed in Cleveland, chances are that the NBA 2012 MVP would not have matured the way he did after the first season in Miami.

Proving that the move, though heavily criticized, helped him grow as a person.

The fact that he said he was humbled by the playoff loss proves that he envisioned himself as an unstoppable force, which is what he had been told since he hit the nation's eyes at the age of 16.

He played angry because people were no longer on his side. Everybody has seen the memes and the jokes all over the media.

With last night's win, James was able to silence them. He did not choke in the Finals and he has his first championship.

Dwyane Wade summarized the season perfectly, "It was a great ending to an incredible season."