[ad_1]
So everyone wants to know what this heat culture is aboutHey?
All right, I’ll tell you a story.
In 2005, when Pat Riley took over as head coach of the Heat, he came out and got a ton of fighting guys just a lot of fighters, You know what I mean??
Pat had been recruiting me since ’96. He offered me a lot of money to come to Miami at the end of my contract. I turned it down, because I felt like I was still building something in Seattle and wasn’t ready to change teams.
But then he came looking for me again in 2005, at the end of my career. Shaq was there, which is like a brother to me, and he and Pat convinced me. So it’s Shaq, young DWade, me, and a few other OGs: Jason Williams and Antoine Walker. I mean, they brought a group.
And when I got there it was all about this culture they had in place.
Everybody always wants to know about culture. They want to know the “secrets of the Miami Heat” and all that. They got all these opinions and questions, especially with a fifth-seed team showing up in the Finals. Now everyone is trying to figure it out …
Man, if you want to know, here it is. Here’s the big secret:
Heat Culture is not just about winning.
Is about how you win.
Crawls to the finish line if necessary. It leaves NOTHING in the tank. It is to be in the best shape of your LIFE. It’s always wanting more: outside of yourself, your teammates, even outside the game. It’s being that kind of guy where they might talk bad about you in the media, about your attitude or your ego or whatever, but Pat knows you’re going to give him that BULLY on the court.
am narration you.
It’s not what you think. It is not a slogan. It’s not a little bubble story.
And yes … we had our reputation. No one really thought it would work. They thought Pat went and got him a bully crew. That everyone he received was always negative, they had an attitude and things like that.
Sounds familiar???
So as soon as we got there, Van Gundy was our coach, but Pat had already established the law. He was like, “You’re not going to have body fat. You’re going to come here and WORK. We are about to be the most fit team that has ever achieved a title. “
Once, after taking over as coach, he brought the whole team together. We thought we were going to practice. Turns out we were going to the movies. Pat took us to see Path of glory.
It’s that 1966 West Texas basketball movie. Based on a true story, by the way. So in the movie, this new coach takes a job in El Paso, where he doesn’t have a ton of resources, but wants to recruit the best, regardless of race, to compete in a championship. And it ends with all these guys with pure talent, and more black than white, which was a big problem at the time. And the coach puts them through that. He puts them through this rigorous training program and tries to unite them around a common goal of winning. The first team in NCAA history with an all-black starting lineup as well.
And, of course, they won.
So Pat takes us to see this movie instead of practicing. And do you want to know the best part? In fact, he played for the other team in real life. He was on the Kentucky team that was defeated in the movie!
We didn’t even have to say anything after leaving the theater. It was like, Yes, message received. We knew that was what we were. We were that raw team. That’s what Pat wanted us to be.
Heat Culture really is just Pat Riley’s culture, you know what I’m saying?
Heat Culture really is just Pat Riley’s culture, you know what I’m saying?
Now, I know what they are thinking. Come on, GP. Many teams watch movies. ALL teams want to win. How do you build a CULTURE simply by wanting to win ??? Isn’t that the culture of each team?
No, it’s not.
And I’ll tell you why.
When Pat came to Las Vegas to recruit me, he let me know what it was going to be like. He told me about the practices. He told me about expectations. He told me about the routine. That’s Pat, he says it like it is. He doesn’t sugarcoat it for you. And he put it like this: The results will be excellent if you accept it.
The man did not tell lies.
At the end of the day, with Heat Culture, it really comes down to you. It all comes down to a question that only you can answer: Are you going to buy?
And it’s black and white, man, either you are or you aren’t. That’s why this is not the culture of all teams. And to be honest? This is why this culture is not for all players.
You can always see the guys who don’t buy it.
Do not last.
Could think they will last. On some other teams, they can last. But in the same way that this culture drives certain guys to greatness … other guys get exposed. That’s one of the things about it: Heat Culture will expose the holes in your game. Quick. And it is by design. It’s by design, because the way they and Pat think: if there’s a loose piece, then it doesn’t work. You must have everything in sync, you know what I’m saying? It must have him humming up and down.
I have to have a culture so strong that it becomes a team in a family.
I’ll tell you the day I bought. I still remember it. It was this one day at practice where they and Pat made us do wind racing – Doing old school stuff from when you were in 8th and 9th grade! Old SchoolDo you know what I’m saying? Making defensive slides, taking charge. And I love it, man. am loving that.
Then I look around me.
All the team is loving it.
And I’m just thinking to myself, like, Wow. Got this whole group of NBA veterans in their eighth and ninth grade? Do you have that kind of power? When he did that, I think that’s when I said: OK. This is different. This is real.
In fact I said this is areal.
It was crazy, but I believed. I bought IN.
Do you want to know who else bought? How really For real bought from??
Spo.
Spo took Heat Culture like a son of a bitch.
You have to remember that Spo was not yet an assistant back then. It was a type of training, mainly for DWade. Like he’s walking out of the video room and exercising DWade and putting him in jumps and stuff like that. He wasn’t even on the bench at the time. I was in the backDo you know what I’m saying?
That’s the test right there: How many head coaches Do you know that they started as video coordinators, work guys and now at the head of the organization? How many??
Yes.
That’s what i’m trying tell you. Is different. It’s crazy how successful Spo has been at this baseball club. And it’s all due to a very specific, very only culture.
And that CULTURE is what led this team to these Finals.
That’s why you can’t rule this team out, not even 3 to 1.
In fact, as I write this, I am thinking of being in a similar position.
You know the story.
We are 0-2 against Dallas in the 2006 Finals.
Now it’s Game 3, we’re back in Miami and it’s tied. About the middle of the fourth quarter, Pat calls a time out and we head to the bank.
At the beginning of the season, we had created this big metal cube in the center of the dressing room, and each of us had to put something personal there. Something that we loved. The media always asked what was in the bucket, but we never said. Some people had bracelets, coins and other things there. Rosary beads. Photographs of our wives and children. You put it in the bucket, it meant something.
For me, it was a photo of my whole family. That’s what I threw there. I said, “This is my family. I value all of you as much as I value you. And that’s why I’m going to throw my family photo in this bucket. “
So now there are six minutes left in Game 3 and our season is on the line. And when we get together, man, Pat … he knows we’re not just thinking about being down in this game. We are thinking about what we left in that locker room. We are thinking about that bucket. About matters. Especially our motivation.
And take one of those deep Pat takes a breath, one of those concentrated breaths, and says, “Okay, look… we’re down 0-2. So everyone must make a decision right now. Everyone must decide whether they are inside or outside. Do you want to win or lose? If you want to lose, that’s fine. If you want to win … if you want to win a championship – then they bring their hearts, they bring their helmets and they bring them right now ”.
Y, man. We went out and brought our helmets. And we play with our hearts. And guess what?? We won that game. And the next. And the next. And the one that follows after that. Four in a row for those who count. Four in a row and a trophy.
That same mentality is exactly what I’m seeing from the 2020 Heat in these playoffs.
And I guarantee you that Spo and Pat and the others are saying the same things in this bubble locker room that was said in 2006.
Oh yeah and one more thing. I’m going to be real: after Pat spoke that night, I also said my little piece. I was the oldest player on the team, 37 years old… .. and I knew this could be my last chance. So when Pat finished, I got up and said to those guys:
In fact, no, I’ll keep it at home. It does not matter the exact words. I just know it was something veterinary talk. It was something season on the line talk.
And now I’m about to write something similar, that I want to tell you this Team Heat – with his season on the line.
I received a message:
Everyone doubts you right now. Everyone is writing you off. They are preparing to CROWN the other boys. They show off that trophy … they have that champagne on ice.
But they forgot one thing.
You are still here.
You are still here, and all belong to here.
The next three games are for Culture.
They forgot about the fucking Miami Heat.
