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Mention “Heat Culture” around the NBA and you elicit a lot of eye-rolling. It’s dismissed as branding. Did that culture get them more than low-to-mid-40s wins or a first-round (or play-in last season) exit in any of the last three seasons?
Don’t roll your eyes at Giannis Antetokounmpo or Klay Thompson, they have fully bought in. Look what Antetokounmpo and Thompson told The Athletic in recent articles.
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“No, it’s real,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic, shaking his head. “It’s real…
“Togetherness. How serious they are. Communication,. Yesterday, we had a meeting. It was probably one of the most exciting, entertaining meetings. There were two Navy SEALs, and they were telling their story, and we were doing push-ups and s***. It’s real, and I love every f****** second of it. I’m not even gonna lie. It gives me goosebumps. It’s almost like being alive again.”
Thompson put it this way:
“But now being with the Heat, it’s just awesome. I can feel the hunger from the organization, how bad they want to get back to the finals. I love that energy. It makes me be a better professional. It makes me be way more in tune with my everyday habits, and I’m just elated to be here….
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“The thing I love about being in Miami is how hungry these young players are. Their commitment to being here early to condition themselves this offseason was something I’ve never really seen before. It just inspires me to give them everything I have.”
Antetokounmpo is coming out of a Milwaukee situation where, for the past few seasons, the focus was on keeping veteran players — Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and, for a time, Damian Lillard — rested and healthy to get to the playoffs. Miami comes to the process with a younger team and a different mindset of work from Day 1 — and that fits Antetokounmpo. His work ethic has always been second to none, and he feels Miami appreciates it more. It’s also nice to be in a place where everything is new and fresh, not the same things you’ve seen for a decade.
Whether the Heat have enough around Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo for that culture to translate to wins on the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/giannis-antetokounmpo-klay-thompson-praise-173410923.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-07 17:34:00
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