In the NBA, one of the most competitive environments is at the Miami Heat. The culture they have developed over the years has ensured that the franchise is always in the mix when it comes to playoff and NBA title contention. However, it has taken a lot of work behind the scenes under the direction of former head coach and current President, Pat Riley.

The panel of The OGs Show, both former Miami Heat players had another former Heat player Hassan Whiteside on as a guest. When talking about Riley’s methods, the former center said:

Pat Riley personally came out on the court and worked me out. The hardest workout of my life. He had on a suit, hair slicked back, collared shirt. I'm literally at a point where I'm a blackout before I stopped this workout. It was not skill, it was just full court dunks. He was like, 'Lick your hand and touch as high as you can on the backboard'.

Hassan Whiteside on The OGs Show

To this, host Mike Miller added:

“He just wanted to see if he could break you.”

This goes to show that Pat Riley has an old-school unique way of instilling that Heat Culture into new players. As Hassan Whiteside found out, it was hard.

Host and Heat legend Udonis Haslem pointed out that the legendary coach already knows about a player’s skill level. As that is already in the books of the players he recruits. But many players come in without the mental toughness that he wants. That is where he pushes incoming players to their breaking point.

It seems, Pat Riley values mental toughness more importantly than skills. That rare attribute has helped the Heat make it to seven Eastern Conference Finals in the past 14 years. A pretty remarkable achievement for a young franchise.

Pat Riley and the Miami heat had a quiet offseason

When most of the other Eastern Conference contenders were having a great offseason, the Miami Heat were quiet. Extremely quiet by their standards as they went about adding no one big enough to cause media to line up outside their door. The Heat had just come off an injury-riddled exit in the first round of the playoffs.

It seems Pat Riley knew the price for seeking any one of those superstars would have had an impact on their future. He quietly went about drafting a rookie center with a high upside. With that pick, he killed two birds with one stone. As one, it frees up Bam Adebayo to become more involved in the offense. Secondly, he invested in the future of the team.

With superstar Jimmy Butler about to reach age 35 and coming off a knee injury, Riley might be leaning toward the youth. As a young squad can keep them competitive for long. Maybe Pat Riley is building the Miami Heat into a dominant force in the NBA going forward.