Image: Head coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat reacts during the third quarter of a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on February 24, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Miami Heat stink, and it's time to point fingers and give discredit where discredit is due.
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
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Stick a fork in them. The Miami Heat are cooked. And so is the notion that "Heat Culture" — a set of core shared values, expectations, commitments, and customs that inform how Miami operates as a team and an organization — exists in the present day.
If the Heat's eight-game losing streak heading into Wednesday night's matchup against the Detroit Pistons at the Kaseya Center wasn't enough to prove that the roster, and the team's mindset, needs a major overhaul, their ninth straight loss — a crushing 116-113 defeat on a last-second shot — put to rest any doubt.
25/12/11 and Cade called GAME
pic.twitter.com/y40nXLwe2o
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 20, 2025
For most, Cade Cunningham banking in a three-pointer at the buzzer to extend the longest losing streak of Erik Spoelstra's career was salt in the festering wound that has become one of the most unwatchable seasons in Miami Heat history.
Not simply because the team's record — 29-39, tenth place in the Eastern Conference — is a shocking fall from two NBA Finals appearances in the past four seasons. But also because the style of play is so foreign and unrecognizable to anyone who believes the team's Heat Culture mantra is a real thing.
Thoughts on Miami’s “Heat Culture” court? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2y05b9ci6D
— HEIR (@Heir_Company) November 5, 2023
It's clear Heat Culture has flunked the 2024-25 season's test. So poorly, in fact, that we're shipping the report card with weeks remaining in the season. Not even a miracle playoff run can erase the fact that this year's Heat squad and its culture have proven to be unworthy of the legacy of those who came before them.
We're not angry. We're just disappointed.
Work Ethic: D
Maybe it's time to work smarter, not harder. Because if this is a Miami Heat team thats outworking everyone, we'd like to see these guys try using their brains occasionally, too.
This is one of the most subjective aspects of Heat Culture. It's based on what people believe other teams do, and the old-school mentality that somehow lifting weights and running more sprints translates to today's NBA, where Miami's record replies upon Tyler Herro hoisting up 20 three-pointers a game.
Whatever the Miami Heat are working hard at, they should switch it up. Skip more leg days. Mix in a film day.
Physical Conditioning: D-
Being the best-conditioned team in the NBA is a lot like being a marathon runner with enormous biceps — congrats, let's see if it helps you win any medals. What's more, the Heat's in-game performance this season has proven that the team might have the tiniest pythons in the gym.
Not only is there zero proof that the Heat are better conditioned than the rest of the NBA, but their second-half struggles indicate that they're one of the league's most easily fatigued squads. Miami, long known for "turd quarters" (i.e., when the team coughs up a lead after the half), has extended its rep into the fourth quarter this season.
So enough about conditioning. Start an iron man league and win a championship there. The NBA is gauged on a points system, not a heartbeats-per-minute system.
click to enlarge Side-by-side photos of Miami Heat All-Star forward Jimmy Butler taken on preseason media day in October 2022 and 2023
Jimmy Butler — notoriously professional person.
Getty Images photos by Eric Espada (left) and Sam Navarro
Professional Presence: F
We've all just lived through the Jimmy Butler-Pat Riley War of 2024, correct? So we're pretty confident that the Heat would not be a nominee if an award is given for the most professional team in the NBA. If there's a prize for the messiest season, they're the leader in the clubhouse.
Make no mistake: The Miami Heat remains a world-class organization. But if the product on the court is this bad, maybe it's time to improve at, you know, professional basketball.
Unselfishness: F
The "Disease of Me" has struck, and the Miami Heat are like a Perdue factory farm during a bird-flu outbreak.
The seven danger signals Pat Riley mentions in his now-famous Winner Within books have reared their ugly heads within the Heat locker room this season. The team had the poster boy of selfishness, Jimmy Butler, who literally quit on his teammates and the town midseason. The guy who was hurt every other week while shopping for a contract extension has been a paragon of perfect health since he scored it in Golden State.
Worse perhaps, many of the Heat's current issues stem from Pat Riley's own egotistical selfishness.
But that's a broader conversation for another day.
Toughness and Nastiness: F
Once upon a time, the Miami Heat were a team known for putting the clamps on opposing offenses. This season they're a middle-of-the-league-ranked defensive team known for practically inviting opponents into the paint, especially when the game is on the line. Their three best players — Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Andrew Wiggins — might win an award for the "Sweetest Big 3" in the NBA.
Who precisely on this Miami Heat team do you look at and say: Wow, that dude is mean! The Heat no longer even has a veteran like P.J. Tucker to come off the bench and smack somebody in the face. The closest thing to nasty they have is annoying, a designation for which new point guard Davion Mitchell would likely qualify on the strength of his gnatlike defense.
Final Grade: F
Congratulations, Miami Heat, you're the laziest, worst-conditioned, least-professional, most-selfish (but most generous!) team in the NBA.