Getty Eddy Curry #34 of the Miami Heat shoots a free throw during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers
The Miami Heat have become synonymous with the phrase Heat Culture. A phrase that highlights the professional, hard-working, and well-conditioned state that its players are in. When coming to the Heat every player is expected to buy into these expectations. The team has a famous conditioning test and frequently tests body-fat percentage.
“To be admitted to training camp, a player has to run the length of the court 10 times in under a minute. Then two minutes recovery. Then again. Two minutes recovery. Then again. And again. And again,” Brian Windhorst wrote.
Josh Richardson also told reporters about the franchise’s expectations and where conditioning fits into Heat Culture.
“They call it ‘world-class conditioning,'” Richardson told reporters. “When you get to camp, they expect you at a certain bodyweight, a certain conditioning level, because from day one, you’re hitting the ground running. They have a conditioning test down there that’s not easy, so it’s your first introduction to training camp, honestly, because it’s like a week before.”
One incredible example of what Heat Culture can mean for players is Eddy Curry.
Eddy Curry on Heat Culture
After being traded from the New York Knicks as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal, Eddy Curry spent some time not on an NBA roster and during that time gained some weight breaching over 400 pounds. However, he worked hard to make the Heat and lost over 100 pounds with the club. The 7-footer got into the best shape of his life and shored up the backup center position for Miami.
“I had never felt such a duty to be ready,” Curry told DJVlad. “Even if I knew I wasn’t going to play, I knew I had to be ready. Just a duty to stay in shape, a duty to be in the best shape of my life, a duty to sacrifice to the game. It was almost like starting all over again from when I was trying to get to the NBA.”
Part of what has carried Heat Culture on for so many years and different players has been that the team’s stars are expected to give that same effort. Curry spoke about how seeing the big three helped him maintain the same hard work.
“You saw LeBron, you saw D-Wade, you saw Chris Bosh, giving everything they had to the game,” Curry said. “I’m not going to be that guy that’s not ready, so yeah, I was in the best shape of my life.”
Udonis Haslem’s Impact on Heat Culture
Another reason you see Heat Culture carry on the way that it has is Udonis Haslem. Haslem has been on the team for 19 seasons. His influence carries on and has a major impact on the team despite him getting many minutes with the Heat. Andre Igoudala, who played for the Heat and was named the Udonis Haslem of the Warriors this season, commented on what Heat Culture did for him and Haslem being an example for it.
“Me going to Miami and experiencing the Miami Heat culture,” Iguodala said. “That really helped me come back and accept the role I had. I knew I could still be impactful.”
It’s the example and impact that Haslem still has on the Heat that is why the franchise had representatives sent to pitch him on a return immediately after this year’s free agency window opened. Whether Haslem will come back is uncertain, but the Heat definitely want him back.