Heat Culture, Jimmy Butler, and Declaring what we want

The Miami Heat just made history as the second no.8 seed to ever reach the NBA finals. At the start of this year’s playoffs, betting odds gave them just a 1.6% chance of making it this far. And they did so in dramatic fashion - overcoming a three gaming losing streak with a decisive win in game 7 over the Boston Celtics.

How did they do it? Heat Culture.

Following the Heat’s run to the 2020 NBA finals, team president, Pat Riley, described Heat culture as:

“the hardest-working, best-conditioned, most-professional, unselfish, toughest, nastiest team in the league.”

The Heat have built a culture around player-development by bringing in overlooked, undrafted picks (see Caleb Martin) and building them into stars through a relentless focus on conditioning, cultivating leadership skills at all levels of the organization, and asking each player to give it their all. And it’s not just the underdogs that are asked to work hard. Team veterans and stars are expected to model a relentless work ethic and focus of putting the team before themselves.

No one seems to embody the work ethic more than star forward Jimmy Butler. Following the Heat’s loss to the Celtics in Game 7 last year, he said this in a post game interview:

“Next year, we will have enough, and we're gonna be right be right back in this same situation and we're gonna get it done." 

Some might call the response cocky. Others might even say delusional. But I think it says more about Butler’s work ethic and courage to create the future he wants. He knows that he will put in the work. It is not a hope or an affirmation of who he wants to be, but the very thing he is committed to making happen with every fiber of his being. 

Declaring what we want publicly is a powerful thing. It’s a forcing function to make life happen the way we want. And yet so much gets in the way of declaration. Can we actually do it? Are we deserving? What if we fail? What will others do now that we’ve said what we want? 

Jimmy Butler often speaks about never being satisfied. I have no doubt he will be upset if the Heat don’t win it all. But will the world end if they don’t? Was it foolish to speak what he wanted into existence? Does not winning it all diminish what he’s accomplished already? I don’t think so. Life goes on. But I think the declaration and the commitment were pivotal in getting the team this far.

You already know what will happen if you don’t declare what you want. Life stays the same. So I ask you this: What do you want that you haven’t spoken out loud? What will you do to take action? By When? Who will you tell? 

And when those fears inevitably arise, ask yourself: What would Jimmy Butler do?