“Health comes first,” James said. “As a professional, you would think that every last one of us would be in top shape but that’s why the docs are who they are. A few years ago [in 2005] Jason Collier, who played for the Hawks, went to sleep and didn’t wake up the next day. I don’t think there was some of the testing then that we have today.”

Curry’s career was threatened in 2005 when an irregular heartbeat caused the Chicago Bulls to shut the center down out of precaution. Curry missed the playoffs that season, the only time in his career one of his teams made it there. Uncertainty about the health of his heart threatened his future when the Bulls were reluctant to sign him to a new contract.

“It’s just scary, my heart and prayers go out to Jeff,” Curry said Saturday after the Miami Heat’s practice. “That is real life.”