THE MIAMI HEAT EPISODE | Norman Powell and Bam Adebayo

THE MIAMI HEAT EPISODE | Norman Powell and Bam Adebayo

Let me see. Oh, you get your own camera view, huh? I put you. You know what I’m saying? You get his own. Listen, he’s Miami now. Oh, yeah, bro. King of Miami. All right. That’s a step. That’s a step. What was your first impression of him playing against him for bowlegged? Oh my gosh. Do you remember? Do you remember what it was? Uh, I think he was in Portland and I was like, “Who’s this bow-legged [ __ ] like coming off the bench?” And so I looked at Jawan. I was like, “Bro, who is that?” He’s like, “It’s Norman Pal.” And I was like, “Damn, he bow-legged.” And I remember calling my mom and was like, “No, I’ve met somebody that’s more bow-legged than you at this point.” And I saw your mom actually and I was like, “Ah, okay. You want to make fun of me? Your mom’s bow-legged, too.” You know what I’m saying? So, yeah. I was like, “Uh, you found you found a twin.” You didn’t say anything to him, though. No, I just thought it. No, I was like, “Damn me, bleed.” And I was like, “Hey, bro.” No, he he didn’t say nothing in the game, but that was like his first comment to me when I got here. Was the bulllegger? Yeah. When did you when did you know he could score like this? I would say a portion of it was I mean you couldn’t really see it but the Toronto run. Um cuz it was obviously the you know they was talking about Kawhai and Cal but like their unit I was like no they like he he’s actually like a score. Uh, and then obviously we played against him and then you hear about when he goes to the to the Clippers and how it shifted to where like the last was it was it last year? Yeah. where like he really like stood out amongst even though they had Kawhai, James Harden, uh you know the the stars of the stars like he stood out and then he got in that little scuffle with Jamal Murray and I was just like this guy this guy. My thing is so the last time we did one of these all-star weekends this this earlier this year you should have been on the All-Star team. They messed that up. Um, but we talked a lot about the Toronto stuff. Yeah. And it caused a little waves. OG hit me about it afterwards. I feel like all the Toronto people saw it. I guess like broadly speaking, why did teams keep messing this up? Um, honestly, I don’t know. I I I honestly feel like like part of it is just like when you fly under the radar and you’re not you don’t have like a big personality, you know, and you’re just like focused on like the task at hand and what you’re trying to accomplish like like you don’t get promoted like it’s all about promotion. It’s all about can you sell or like can you be on social media and things like that. Um, but I think like you fly under the radar and then like you said, I’m I’m put alongside like great players, you know, guys that are um going to be in the Hall of Fame, guys that have been face of the league, face of the franchise for so long, you know, like you’re just paired alongside of them. So, like you don’t really have like your own time to shine, you know, like it’s always somebody. When I first got into the league, it was Demar and Kyle, you know, then and DeMar straight and it’s Kawhai’s whole thing, you know, and then um I go to Portland, it’s Damon CJ’s uh setup. Then I go to the Clippers, it’s Kawawaii and PG and then we get Russ and then we get James, you know, and then so you’re like you’re alongside like these big names and this uh these guys have done so much in the league that like what you’re doing like kind of just like skates under the radar, you know, and it’s not much of a focus. Um but you know, that’s has been my story. I’m curious your perspective on this when you you’ve been on you know, with this group, there’s been so many different um iterations of unit and you’ve had so many different great teams, like great individual players, but also great teams. And when you’re when you’re thinking about like knowing your role, staying in your lane, being in a spot where you got to do what’s best for the team, and it’s obviously here it’s worked so well and it’s resulted in a lot of team success, but like in the league overall, you obviously only know your own perspective here, but in the league overall, the idea of like you don’t want to stand out too. You want to be a part of the team, but also like to what he’s describing, if you don’t stand out too much, sometimes people don’t actually give you credit for the [ __ ] that you do. Mhm. Uh, I mean, and you know that first and foremost talking about being, you know, all team defense, all um defensive player of the year. So, you know, don’t don’t be all humble and be like, “Ah, I mean, I’ve been [ __ ] a couple times.” Uh, so, you know, in my perspective, I I’ve gotten to a point where like winning fixes all of that. To me, it’s like, and especially with the Miami Heat, for some reason, it’s like if we give anybody any other reason to be like, “Oh, we’ll go with them.” It’s like, it’s always that with us. Like, you know, I’ve been alongside Spo for nine years at this point. And the fact that he’s never won coach of the year, that’s crazy. You know what I mean? USA little and everybody around the league talked about how he’s like one of the greatest coaches and like not even to be So a lot of it’s political and you know they want to push certain people or like a lot of guys that get certain awards are along some of the guys that like people want to see. So I was like you’re a beneficiary of that. Like a lot of teams that I’ve been on, we don’t have like the mega star. So we’ll be winning. Like there’s been a couple times where we were number one in the East one time and like nobody even thought about us about it. Yeah. You know, like we’re making all these incredible runs and it’s like every year they’re like, “Ah, you know, Miami, whatever.” Like now people like, “Oh, you know, Miami is actually good this year.” But it’s like it’s because we’re scoring and something points and it’s like, “Whoa, it’s just a drastic a drastic change in the way we play.” Yeah. Having the USA experiences and just sort of international experience you’ve had, has your perspective changed a little bit, just seeing how other guys are able to move and operate? Yeah, for sure. Uh that brand of basketball is some of the most uncomfortable basketball you’ll ever play. And I say that because when you walk in the room, everybody’s the guy on their team. So, you’re coming to a situation where like, all right, who’s really going to sacrifice to to to run to the corner so Steph can get an open shot. And it’s like those are the type of sacrifices that people don’t talk about. They just see a a team full of stack players and they think like, well, you know, you got two weeks to two weeks to figure it out. Yeah. But it like it’s some of the most uncomfortable basketball, but it’s also some of the purest basketball you’ll play because it’s not about stats. It’s not about money. You don’t have no contracts involved. is solely about winning the goal because like the the difference between like winning the NBA championship and I’ve never done that. Uh but like a golden medal like you see people getting bronze medals and they’re crying. It’s and you see when guys go play for their country how different they play. Like Ricky Rubio in the league was getting like 10 and 10 assists. You put him in that in his country’s jersey, Ricky Rubio gave us 40 like that. But like that’s the type of like pride that goes into like wearing your country and like a lot of I feel like a lot of like players like European players when they when they ask would you rather won a NBA championship or gold medal they’ll a lot of them will say gold medal because it’s like cuz it means more. Yeah. When you get solidified in your country where you come from man also they’ve been doing it for together for so long. That’s the other thing. like they’re they’re like feel like they like the European teams and your players are built for you know the Olympics like they’re they have they start them young, right? They start them in professional when they’re 16 and so they’re they’re with their national team all the way out through and then like once they get old enough to play on the the big team, you know, like this is what we’re shooting for, you know, like and especially with with being on the USA team, I feel like every every single time that the target’s on the back like whether even like the years when I was the redeem team or whatever, like the target was on their back like and and anything less is a failure. You know what I’m saying? That’s the crazy part. Like like I don’t like to talk about pressure cuz you know pressure is different but like the amount of eyes that were on us. Like my first one we lost a couple games. I didn’t realize how much you how much hate you would get. Were they coming for you? No, just the team in general. Like we lose a couple games and it’s like man it’s first time they lost a Expedition game or whatever. uh exhibition game against claiming you for sure I seen it on social media but it’s like from all north of the murder yeah that’s right like it it’s it’s crazy how like you’re you’re out there for our country obviously and you lose a couple games and they’re like oh they’re not going to win like this is the worst team ever symbol yada yada yada and then we win and it’s like y’all supposed to win that. Good. Yeah. Good job. Go home. I remember I think in who is it? South Sudan. There was somebody in 24 that you guys beat in the in the games the qualifying. It wasn’t even the ones that matter necessarily, but like you guys won by like one or two. People still had to freak out. Yeah. And now it’s a big Now it’s a big thing like can can they get it done? They got to go against Canada. They got to go against France. And I’m like we won the game. Yeah. Did you think did you think you were coming back in Serbia? I’m not gonna lie, Stephen Curry is amazing. Listen, like him, like that was my that was my moment to realize like, no, y’all are active like Hall of Famers like like being on the court and obviously you see some of the like the pictures, but I was in a couple of them. They cropped me out though, but whatever. Uh, but being on the court during that game, I was like, damn. like we might lose. And then it’s like this switch just goes off in the huddle. It’s like nah, we got him. And it’s like you see Braun at 40 just get a outlet and it’s just like streaking up the court. Four dribbles, layup. KD gets the ball and then you got the thing that I love about like certain moments of that journey was you had Melo over there like coaching us. Mel’s going crazy. Yeah. Like Melo’s going crazy. get a ball to KD, everybody get out. And it’s like when you’re in those moments, obviously now I’m looking at I was like, bro, we was really under a lot of stress like like it was very intense in there. But like yeah, you have that moment like damn, we’re down 15 with 10 minutes left. Like even in the even in the in the French game and you guys weren’t really down, but they were playing so well. And that crowd cuz I was at I I went to all the uh all the games that mattered. That crowd was like like I said, bro, like that that atmosphere, you can’t recreate that. Like that is literally solely their country. Like we’re going to bring whatever energy we need to bring. Like if they make two shots in a row, it feels like they’re up 10. Yeah. That amount of like energy in a building, one that’s what that’s what you live for. Uh, but I just feel like it’s so different, too. Like the love and appreciation of the game is like so pure over there in overseas. Like they’re coming, you see them chanting, fireworks, like like stomping, cheering the whole time, sections, jumping up and down. Like that’s something that’s like I feel like they really embody like I want to experience that at some point. You know what I’m saying? Did you feel you did you feel like the championship run had a version of that just with the in in in Canada and in the like craziness? Even even parade parade was crazy. The parade was crazy. No, I don’t think no parade would top that. But like I don’t know, man. Miami, bro. Just fast forward. Fast forward foreshadowing. Like I don’t know, man. We the bar is pretty high. 5 million people. We just need the whole the whole state of Florida. Just come just come chill with us for a day. But like even like uh my my rookie year um we we played Cleveland um in the Eastern Conference Finals and like we lost at home and Braun’s doing his postgame interview and the stadium is still packed and they’re still cheering. They’re still chanting. You know what I mean? cuz like one it was like our first time as a team or making it to the Eastern Conference Finals and to lose like that but like the spirit that they have and like the appreciation of like everybody leaving it all out there, you know, and doing whatever it could like to possibly win the game and then being after the game and like chanting and cheering where they had to like wait for the to interview him was like crazy. I saw that I went to Manila when they were when FIA was there a couple years ago and ger like Schroeder and those things all the German team is good in general but like he’s a different he’s a great he’s had a great NBA career I told you him and FIA is like they put on that other jersey and they’re like no I’m the man different confidence man it’s a different confidence obviously we know it when like when you put a different type of jersey on and it’s like your team are gassing they’re gassing you like putting that battery in your back. Oh, you go out there and be like, “All right, I’m f to shoot this. I’m going to do whatever. Like, I’m not going to get taken out.” Freedom. Oh, my bad. There’s no parlays I got to think about. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Let’s Let’s do this. So, to the the combo we were having earlier this year so far, you guys are, you know, you’re off to a great start. 14-7, best offense in the league. You’re having an amazing like I think if the season ended today, you’d be on an allNBA team. Um, not that awards matter, but I think that you would. I guess my question for you on like a bigger level is like how do you keep the chip when you are when you’re playing so well at this high level where it’s like you’ve you’ve now now proven this for so long and you’re now at this place where like over and over again you’re sort of showing what you can do. This chip has like gotten you to this place, but how do you keep that, you know, how do you keep the edge? Um, I think it’s for me it’s it’s the self motivation like internal like there’s nothing external that um will move me you know like even like last year like not having like making it to the allar even though I feel like I should have been and then like getting traded here oh he’s going to have the the chip on his shoulder or have that mental like my me mentality is within myself you know can I be can I get better um how do I how do I continue to grow you know and and prove to myself that you know I can continue to sustain this or I can be a even a better level. You know, it’s always a competition within within me. You know, um can I get better each and every single day each and every year, you know, when I’m looking back and I’m going over like the analytics part of the game and my weak areas and things like that. Now, that’s my new mission. Okay? I’m not so great going left. Teams are trying to force me to go left. Now, I’m going to be a great left-hand driver and be a great left-hand finisher. So, now you can’t put me in those situations. You can’t weak me. You can’t strong me, you know. Um, so it’s always uh looking at myself and how I can get better. And that’s where the edge comes. That’s where the chip comes. Like like, okay, can I do it this year? You know, what what is it going to take for me to not get snubbed and make it? You know, what can I do um to better myself? Because if I better myself, it’s going to better the team. Um, so the chip comes within myself and my belief of trying just to maximize my ability and be the best basketball player that I can be. Thanks to DraftKings for sponsoring the show. We’re only a few weeks in and the NBA season is already wild. Stars are going off. Rookies are making noise. And the action doesn’t stop. Drafting Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA, is where you can get in on all of it. Missouri listeners, listen up. Drafting Sportsbook is now live in the Show Me State. Richie, I was uh I was looking at our favorite uh topic on Drafting Sportsbook app futures earlier today. We are taping this Monday afternoon, so this is obviously subject to change. Um, but this is relevant to our episode today, uh, with Miami Heat star guard and center, uh, Norm Powell and Bam Adabio. NBA Cup futures, Oklahoma City Thunder plus 100, LA Lakers plus 500, Orlando Magic plus 600, New York Knicks plus 650, Toronto Raptors plus, 1100, all the way down the bottom, the Miami Heat at plus,500. Uh, Heat are currently 13-7, um, 7-3 in their last 10. They are number two in defense. They are number one in pace in the NBA. Um Tyler Herro is now back. They have two guards that can score at will and create their own shot. As I said before, they got one of the best defenses in the league. Just think that’s uh pretty interesting. Um pretty interesting placement. New customers bet just five bucks and get $200 if your bet wins. Paid in bonus bets. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code young man. That’s code y o u n g m- an bet five bucks and get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours. Are there particular things about this system uh so far that you that you’ve enjoyed? Um honestly, I’ve enjoyed the whole system. Uh we could run a little bit more pick and roll cuz I I was coming coming in and and and being traded before I knew like the offensive shift. Like I watched a lot of film uh with Bam and Tyler and how they had their twoman and especially me um with Bam coming out that corner DHO’s and things like that. Like I studied him. So like being able to play in the pocket and then being able to doing that twoman and get downhill. Now I got a lob threat, you know, where I can fake the lob and the big man goes back and I got the layup or if he commits I got the drop off. So I think that aspect I miss in the offense of not being able to get to as much. But um I love the free flow. I feel like it fits my game, like my athletic ability, getting out in transition, running, shooting in transition, getting down to the cup. Um, I think it fits everybody’s game, and that’s what I like the most about it. What do you think about that? Uh, all right, man. I can’t really judge the offense at this point. We’re cooking. Uh, that’s cap, bro. We’re We’re objectively cooking. We are We’re cooking. We’re cooking. But like I said, I love the offense, but I do wish we ran a little bit more pick and roll so I can get to the twoman with with you. You know what I mean? You’re not getting as many lob dunks and things like that. So, listen, there’s a little thing. I spot up in the corner, man. See, look, corner pimping, man. I was going to ask you about this. So, you’ve talked about this in in other interviews, but just like when you really look at your shooting numbers overall and the jump and the the it’s been like an incredible thing to see. Was there a specific period uh just in your life where you decided to make this shift or did this just happen just through sort of like natural work? No, I mean naturally I I try to when I go into my summers, man, I I take two weeks off, don’t even touch a basketball, don’t even think about it. And then it’s like the the the switch flips and I’m like, “All right, what’s going to help me?” Like one be on the court. Like I’m old enough now where like it’s kind of like all right you’re starting like we have those discussions early but like younger me I was like what’s gonna help me get on the court? Um and how I started which is crazy cuz I started as a defender. Like everybody seems to forget that at this point that like now they’re like man big go get 20 and 10. And I’m like yeah that’s cool. Like I want to do that. Who wouldn’t want to go get 20 and 10 in the NBA? But my my coach is also like, you got to anchor out defense. Like that also takes effort cuz Norm doesn’t talk a lot. That’s great. Uh, as much as I want him to, like he’s getting more comfortable in our system now. But like I I’m one of them people like I value getting stops and us running in transition and everybody sharing the game that way and me getting my 20 and 10. than like me getting my 20 and 20 and we’re scoring 100 points and like we’re bar we’re barely winning like yeah like that’s not fun basketball to me. Fun basketball is when we all look at the stat sheet and we got seven eight people in double figures like like that to me is like that’s how you get to 150 and you know some some got to sacrifice like to me I’m the one that has to sacrifice a lot because like you said there is no pick and rolls in our system. So if he gets going, Tyler gets going, like that that’s the way team’s going. Yeah. Yeah. Like we’re generating. But like I’m I’m selfless to where I can be like all right. Like I’mma figure out how to get my 20 and 10 and I might end up with 18 and like 13. Yeah. But it’s like still trying to figure out sometimes that’s more valuable honestly than actually getting those 20 10 25 and like those games are going to happen like especially with the where our offense is and the way he has been shooting the ball, you know, like the pressure that me and Tyler put on defense’s wigs too and his post-ups and getting downhill. Now they’re helping off. Now the big is closing out to him, you know, and he can shoot the three. you know, he had a hot game like he did against Memphis where you came out what, five for five from three or whatever it was to start, you know what I mean? Now, now you going you can end up with 25, 28, you know, but um those those games are going to come based off just how we play. But like the there’s more value with him getting 18 and 13 and three blocks and two steals, you know, and four assists. Like, and we got that’s a complete game. We got the top two uh top two defense in the league. Like that’s what I like seeing like oh we’re It is crazy that with the pace you’re at, the pace you’re playing at and the top two defense is is not a fun combination I feel like for other teams. Yeah. Not at all because like I tell anybody like if you’re not in shape, we will see it. Yeah. Like like we’ll we’ll see it. Did you have that when you got when when the trade happened? Did you have the the I feel like it’s become the the conditioning stuff becomes like a little bit I was probably like the most nervous I’ve been like I was telling Bam like when I first came in uh cuz I came in for like a week like to try to find a place and get acclimated and I was talking to I’m like bro this conditioning test he’s like oh it’s not even that bad. I’m like yeah it’s easy for you to say you’ve been here your whole career. You’ve done it every single summer but I haven’t. And like the like since rookie year, all you heard was about how strict Miami was. Like Derel Wright, Don Wright’s brother who played here was like he was telling me that his brother had to get on a treadmill and run to lose uh lose weight before he could play. So like all this stuff is going in my mind before coming out here and having to do the conditioning test. And like as soon as I got traded, I’m like, “All right, I was in I was on vacation one.” And so coming back, I’m like, “Okay, now I got to shift my my training because uh I got to practice for this conditioning test.” And so I get here, I passed the conditioning test by like like two seconds, maybe. I don’t know. May Did you do anything different for the training? Yeah. I didn’t I was I was running and I was Oh my gosh. I tell you, I was track meeting after I got trained and got back uh to the States, man. Oh, like every single workout, like we even planned like conditioning days and I’m like like this is not nothing that I’ve done before in like uh my previous summers, you know, like you I got my cardio um just like simple fullcourt drills and then playing five on five throughout the summer like this was like running like running. And so I passed my damn test and then I don’t know if it was preeason or like one of the the starts of the like like first five games or whatever and they were talking about my shape and I was like I’m in great shape for the Clippers. All right. Give me some time. I’m in great shape. I come back like this, they’re going to be excited about what I did this summer. So give me some time to get acclimated to the Miami Heat shape. It was crazy. Do you feel like this is like a with your new teammates every year, this is an ongoing thing? 100%. I mean, for the people that come back, like soon as it’s over, you think about like, damn, I got to do this again next year, bro. I’m already thinking about that. Like, you start thinking about it cuz it’s like soon as the season ends, like at the end of the year, like everybody’s like, damn, we got that at the parade on the float. Still thinking about it. No, at that point you win. Well, you make it to the finals or win, you don’t got to run it the next year. Oh, there’s a uh that’s the that was not told to me. That’s the loophole. That was not told to me. So, that’s the that’s kind of like the trade-off. You make the finals, you win. Like, you ain’t got to run it. Uh that’s dope. I didn’t know that. But like I’m already cuz like me hopefully, you know, I get extended, resigned here, uh whatever the case may be. I’m like, “All right, so now I can’t get this. I can’t go over this weight. I gotta keep my body weight, my body fat at this percentage so that way when I get into my training it’s easier. So like I’m already thinking about my summer training program so I don’t have to get in shape. People laugh at it and people talk about like you know how strict we are or whatever the case may be, but like that is heat culture. Like that that in a nutshell is heat culture. It’s a standard like for us it’s just we want you to be in the best shape of your life. It is kind of funny. It’s like this. You have the normal stress of getting traded and the shock of getting traded and then this in the back of your mind is like, “Fuck, I got to like I’m telling you, I texted uh my trainer AJ and my PT uh Charles. I’m like, all right, like we got to we got to start planning for this cardio test because I do not want to go in here and leave a bad impression like, oh, Norm came in and he failed, you know, like all these expectations and now I got to do the cardio test again and again until I pass.” Like, that was not going to be it. Where were you when you got traded? I was in Italy. What part? Um, let’s be nice. We were Huh? Let’s be nice. I know you not talking all the places you’ve been. Um, I was in Venice, actually. Oh, that’s great. That’s Yeah, I was in Venice. Yeah, I was actually on one of the little uh uh tours on the little canal boats like mid mid trade. We’re about to go dock to go uh see this little spot and like stop the whole tour. I was like, “All right, I got to take these phone calls.” Like the whole day was canceled after that. Were you were you I mean I feel like we talked about it a little bit last year like at this point you’re not surprised by much but still like getting a call on a dock boat in Venice being like you’re getting traded is still a little crazy. Yeah. I mean it it was crazy cuz like where I was at when you’re like yeah I’m on tour and enjoying uh my vacation. Uh but I also think it was just crazy because like I wasn’t fully expecting it. Like there was smoke. There was like some chatter but like that comes along with being you know on expiring contract. Um, one being I would say the most valuable trade asset in that group of like who you can get stuff back for, but then also just like the talks before of like being told that they want to extend you and they want you here. I think that’s the bigger shock for me, you know, not, oh, I was overdoing something else, but just we value you, we want you here, like we love what you bring to the table, boom, boom, we want to work something out and then trade it without even being able to talk and see what’s up. Um, I think that was like the biggest shock. Yeah, NBA is a crazy business. Send you to the East Coast, my boy. We we going to send you to the, you know, a great city, good weather, uh, no state tax, you know. I was going to say it couldn’t work. No, for sure. Hey, I I’ve been fortunate in my NBA career so far. I’ve been in some great cities that everybody wants to play in and want to um uh live there. So, like I I am not upset with the trade and where I’ve ended up. Um, it’s been great. um they’ve taken me in with open arms. I’ve had a great time being here. We’re working on it. What have you learned? You know, you are probably the, you know, foremost expert on this team now. But what have you learned being with Spo just about how cuz like you mentioned before, I feel like objectively most players around the league who you know have not played for him just hold him in such a high regard regardless. But being, you know, being in the system with him and seeing how he operates dayto day. Um one he’s a student of the game like he knows the games in and out. uh one especially to you know uh it’s talked about but to completely scrap what you do and implement something totally new um uh offensively and in the approach and seeing that this is going to be the best for the team that we have um and bring the most out of the players um I think that being a student of the game and being able to adjust on the fly um obviously they had a summer to prepare for it and everything like that but just then given the opportunity to showcase like we have all these guys that have such versatility and we’re not showing it in the system before. We’re going to implement this one, right? And it’s going to show everybody’s ability. It’s going to give everybody a chance to go out there and play the game, play free. Um and then also um the the mentality and approach to the game like he he’s competitive, you know, and he he wants to win, you know, and and he gets after it, you know, and and that’s something that you appreciate. He makes you want to run through a wall for him, you know, and and get better, you know. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. He’s in the He’s in the huddle. He’s going to yell at you. He’s going to go at you. He’s going to challenge you. Um and he’s going to push you. Like today we have film session and he he went at me, you know, and I I’m very coachable and I can sit there and take it. And then like after he’s like, “Are you okay with me talking?” I’m like, “Coach, you can talk to me that I’m very coachable like like like I like that, you know? I like challenging, being challenged, being called out and being put on the spot because it’s going to make you a better basketball player.” And I think that’s what he does. He brings the best out of his uh his players. Did you have a first competitive experience 2017 2018 bam that you saw it and you were like this is with spo? Yeah. Oh, I hated Spo when I first got here. Hated Spo. Hated Spo. And it wasn’t it wasn’t because first of all, this is the one competitive moment I had with Spo rookie year. We’re in training camp. I’m on the red team. like I’m So we got obviously first unit, second unit, and then the younger guys on like the the JV team basically and I’m competitive, so I don’t care who out there, I want to win. So we’re losing and I’m pissed. Like I’m I’m hot. And I remember the next day he come to me. We’re we’re all uh having like a a film session. He was like, “You think you above being in being with the red team?” And I was like, “What the fuck?” Like I was like, “Cuz I want to win, man.” Uh, and that’s kind of like our first like interaction. So I was like, “Man, see like now he and to me I was like, see now you got the wrong impression. I want to win.” I was like, “You think I’m I’m mad cuz I’m on the red team. No, I want the red team to win. Uh, but it just shows like his competitive his competitive nature cuz he see he first of all, like I said, I hated the man cuz he didn’t play me. I was like, “Coach, you can you can slide me 10 minutes.” Uh, uh, but at that time I understood it was like a lot of guys had just got paid the summer I was coming in. So you had James Johnson, Dion, Wayne was a part of that team, son Whit side, like dudes had just got paid. So me coming in, I’m like, man, you uh, you know, I I wasn’t really into like the lottery picks and all that, but I was like, damn, bro. Like, you know, when you come in, cuz a lot of dudes that came in to the league with me, we all known each other since we’re 12. So I’m looking around the league, I’m like, man, Donovan getting to play, JT, De’ar Fox. I’m like, man, all my homeboy is getting to play and I’m just sitting at the end of the bench next to UD hanging out. And like, thank God for UD, man. And you know, we need more vets in this league like him. Uh because like he changed my whole mindset when it came to Spo Like like I said, like I hated this man. Like when I used to go to practice, I used to really get irritated looking at him like like like like it was like that bad. And then like sitting at the end of the bench, he was like he was just always young fella just be ready so when your name get called you ain’t like when you go out there you prove it to him that you supposed to be out here. And he used to piss me off a little bit too cuz I used like man whatever bro. And like obviously listening to that and I’m one of the people I love to work. I love the grind like the process. Uh, and I got my opportunity and obviously, you know, he started charting it like, “Man, young fella be at the top of the top of the list every time.” So, they started playing me and I was like, “Yeah, hell yeah, man.” Like, but like Spose is one of those he’s one of those people like he wants to see us all do well. Like I said before, he doesn’t want to have two people getting 40. Yeah. Like he’s okay. He sleeps well at night if our whole starting five gets 20 points. Like 17 to 20 points. He’s like, “No.” Like that is wellrounded because we’re going to need everybody when we get into these playoff moments. And when it goes into those playoff moments, you need guys to be ready ready and sharp. Well, I was going to say and it’s also and this is another thing which is, you know, with the amount of success you guys have had, it’s been talked about a lot, but just the the player development and the the Duncan, the Struses, the guys who come in here who are not, you know, not you coming in, not even obviously you’re a different situation, you know, with where you’ve been before this, but like guys who came in basically with no expectations or no anything and then all of a sudden they’re going to get paid somewhere else because of him. You got to think we like we we got scrappy dudes because like one we was finding diamonds in the rough like like they just have a knack for going get guys where it’s like floats under the radar but like you know a lot of time people choose talent over people that like play hard and [ __ ] like we got to keep my Garner he’ll get six fouls in four minutes but Those will be the four hardest minutes you will ever watch a human being play. Yeah. And it’s like guys like that where people are like h we don’t see it and it’s like we get him in this system and like he’s able to explore like how he can become something in this league and then you put that battery in his back like and then on top of that we had a captain in UD who was from that mold. M so we’re coming in like how how can we get a paycheck? Like how can we like figure out what we can be in this league? And we got a captain that comes from that and he’s like y’all know you D the blueprint. Like he’s like the blueprint for us. Like, but I also think like something that isn’t talked about a lot when you talk about like, oh, like these guys develop and they’re here is like there is a like prototype player that they look for like that like that the Heat want, you know, and I think it falls in line of that Heat culture, you know, guys that are going to work, going commit, that’s going to buy in to the system and and what they have established here. and they go out and look for those guys like guys that are going to sacrifice and put in the work and commit uh to getting better, you know, and like everybody if you look down the roster and like you can go by year after year, you know, they have those type of players, you know, like it might not always pan out perfectly how everybody wants, but like the the foundation of each player that they put on this roster are are guys that are hard-nosed, hardworking. um they get, you know, good picks and things like that, but like the other guys like Pel Larson, Drew Smith, um I put myself in there because of my backstory where I came from, like D Mitch, like these guys are like hardnosed. They’re working um and they’re guys that are like overlooked, you know, because they don’t put up 15, eight, and six or whatever, but they do the little things. They’re scrappy and they’re willing to um buy in to what the system needs and wants to bring. And that’s what makes every single year they have they go on these runs and and they’re top or you like they made the play made the playoffs like like you have these group of guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to to be winners. Thanks to DraftKings for sponsoring the show. The NBA season has been absolutely insane so far. We’ve got stars putting up video game numbers, rookies making serious noise, and storylines that keep getting wilder by the day. And you know what makes all of this even better? DraftKings Sports Book and official sports betting partner of the NBA. Hey Missouri, this one’s for you. DraftKings Sportsbook is finally live in the Show Me State. And check this out. New customers can bet just five bucks and get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins. That’s no joke. DraftKings Sportsbook opening Missouri. Very exciting news. Shout out to um uh my Missouri friend and friend of OM3 YM3, Sophie Cunningham. Just got off the phone with her a couple of hours ago. Uh this is very exciting for the state of Missouri. I think the thing that I was thinking about in terms of um this from the NBA perspective is you got to pick a team. Thunder are an option, Mavericks are an option, Bulls are an option. I feel like the beauty and the curse of the Midwest is uh you can really kind of decide whatever direction you go in and you can, you know, change your mind depending on the day. Um very exciting for the state of Missouri that DraftKings is opening up there. Excited to get out there and maybe do some events there later in the year. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code young man. That’s code y o n g m- an bet five bucks and get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours. What kind of advice have you given to wear so far in terms of everything you’ve seen? Uh I was hard on him on the summer like uh I was I was I was very hard on on on Leil uh this summer because we know what he can we know what he can do. Like obviously, you know, people see the 20 and 18 and all that, but for me it was just like just bring energy every day. And my advice was like it it’s not always going to be 20 and 15 cuz sometimes the game sometimes the ball just doesn’t find you, whatever reason that is. And we play a system where like you can’t hunt it cuz it looks bad. But like if he he just brings a right energy every game like his it’s impactful. Like it doesn’t like I said it might not be 20 and 20 and 15. It might be 10 and 10 with three blocks but it’s like those three blocks could have been the key three blocks into starting a 15-2 run for us. Like like that’s the type of you know mind shift that I wanted him to get. and he’s figured it out because now like we bank on Leil getting at least two to three offensive rebounds off of just like ran just pure athleticism and just like just a random bounce. Yeah. And it’s like uh like that’s that was been my advice to him. Just like just try to impact winning. It might not be it might not show up on a stat sheet, but like we in the locker room are thankful like we we we know how impactful how impactful you were to that game. Do you think um and I you know that the the heat culture obviously you guys have a lot of guys like this, but there’s other guys on different teams around the league who have it as well. in terms of some of the intangibles you’re describing. Do you think that can be taught or that’s a thing that you just kind of have and it needs and no matter what it’s going to come out in its own way. Can that like be coached or it just is thing either you have it or you don’t? I think it’s a mix of both, you know. Um I think it it is taught. You know, some people have like the innate natural ability like to be able to have that. Uh like for me, like it it was taught to me or it was shown to me um through little things. It might not have been sports, but just like seeing my mom, seeing my uncle operate and how they got stuff done and and the work that they put in and the sacrifice they did and then like watching and studying doing Wade and Kobe and their approach and things like that and oh, this is what it takes. Oh, this is why you do it. Okay, if I envision myself and I want to be at this level, then this is what I got to do, right? And so it was tight and shown to me and then I implemented it, right? Um, with other guys, you know, u upbringings and stuff are different, but they’re extremely skilled. So now you got to take the time to teach them, to show them one the skill and then what goes into it. Okay, you have this ability, right? We haven’t really taught you, but now you haven’t really been taught. So now we’re going to take you under a wing. We’re going to show you, you know, how how to maximize your ability and the skill-wise and then the mental capacity and what it takes. You want to be at this level, right? You want to get it get the most out of this, then this is where your mental approach has to be at. And that’s something that’s as well has to be taught. So, like for me mentally as well, like I had to learn the mental part of it because I had the physical ability and I had the uh the mental ability to put the work in, but then be able to put that all together mentally and go out there and showcase it. That’s a whole another ball game as well because you go through, oh, like it’s not as easy no more. I’m playing up in in competition now. The stuff that I was doing with people my age level, I’m not getting off. So, now I got to be mentally tough and strong. Okay, let me figure this out. You know what I’m saying? Like like how do I score against Bam? How do I score against, you know, a sevenfooter? You know, everybody was my size. So, um I think it’s a mix of both. Like, like some people have it, but it can also be taught and shown to a player. And I think with Khalil, like being partnered with BAM, being partnered with UD and going through it, right? Cuz you have natural ability and somebody that’s taken her natural ability and continues to maximize it. And then you got a guy like UD, right, who had to scrap, work, go overseas, come back, um, fight for a spot, fight for a spot, and get his opportunity, right? Because it wasn’t just given to him. So now you pair both of those together and have somebody to mentor like Khalil. Now you can see his game coming together, you know, with the opportunity that that is being put put in front of him. I I just think you got to be able to go through the funk, man. like like the the mental aspect of basketball, people don’t really talk about it as much. Uh but the the mental game that you have to go through, like the mental warfare, like I said, my rookie yard hated my coach. Like that was mental warfare for me. But because I had uh you know, coaches before then where I literally would be like, “Dog, they’re just on my ass today.” Like like I could handle it. Like it wasn’t like SP was getting under my skin. It was just like I just didn’t like you because you weren’t playing me. Like I don’t understand why you didn’t play me. But I think the mental aspect like like you got to be able to understand like you’re going to go through the rough. Like it’s it’s not going to be pretty. Like it’s sometimes it’s going to be ugly and you going to be like bro you know sometimes you going to get to the point where it’s like bro do like am I even supposed to be here? Yeah. Like do I really want to like do this? Because I think natural ability, like when it comes to basketball, some people it’s just like, “No, you’re just naturally gifted.” Like you go out there and it’s like, “Oh, you know, you’ve seen guys. It’s like make it look effortless.” Yeah. They don’t they don’t really work out. It’s like they don’t really bind. They just got it. But like that mental aspect and you know I think that’s what his hurdle was this this summer was getting that like that mental toughness because you know you’ll see Kell miss two shots and then it’s like he starts looking at the ground like and then it it affects everything else like him now being able to miss a shot or you know miss a a rebound or something like now it doesn’t affect the other end. Uh, so I feel like the middle aspect, man, is is one of the biggest key components when it comes to being taught basketball. Obviously, you know, you got to want to learn basketball. You got to want to learn, you know, how you can be effective in certain ways, but like being able to like have mental toughness when you do make a mistake where it doesn’t affect the rest of like your game. That’s the separator. Like that’s the separator. I was going to say, are there are there non uh teammates on this current team that you guys look at as sort of like the gold standard around the league that you just admire for their ability to sort of do what you’re describing? to me, Kyle Anderson, like Kyle Anderson was my teammate, what a year and a half, but like just talking to him and then when he got his opportunity to play, like Kyle just knew how to play basketball, but also like it’ll be sometimes he’ll play 10 minutes, then he’ll play 30, then he’ll get a DMP, and then like he’ll come off the bench, he’ll be like our sixman. Like so he was in different roles every other day and you know talking to him every day like I became to be a fan of Kyle because like he just stayed so consistent like and that that to me is like like he’s one of the vets in the league that like you know you you won around the locker room because he’s a great dude but also like he shows up like he’s going to get his work in. He’s going to compete but like at the end of the day he’s a late baby. I was going to say he’s I don’t buy that. But like he’s just super consistent, man. And like shout out Kyle, by the way. Yeah. For me, for me it was uh it’s Fred Vanvel. Like that’s that’s my dog. I mean um we cut from you know, same cloth, but just it’s my dog, man. We we came in this uh he came in the year a year after me, but um he’s just a guy that’s like super steady, you know what I mean? Like no matter what. Um I remember like he start off the year and he shoot 17% and first 10 12 games of the season people were killing him riding him. Um and then you know he go off you know and he was able to always ride whatever low low point it was like he always had the ability like to stay mentally strong and trust his work and trust that it’s going to happen. I remember uh we used to have this talk. He’s like, “Man, yeah, like you got to give me the opportunity.” Like I’m a small player, so when I’m driving, I got to throw some stuff up sometimes and sometimes it’s going to go in and sometimes it’s not, but you got to let me you got to let me get the rhythm and let him figure it out. U and then that was his whole thing, like he’s going to figure it out. You know, he’s going to put the work in. He’s going to trust his work and no matter what, he’s going to stay steady. And he I think he was a great locker room leader because of that. Because like no matter how bad he shot, whether he was three for 15 or he was 10 for 15, he had the same approach, the same uh mindset and it resonated amongst everybody on the team. Like I can go through this. I can take the heat. I can go through um the tough times and still come out on top. And he’s been able to carry that with him throughout the course of his career. he got an all-star, then he was able to showcase what he did at a leader going to Houston um when they weren’t um winning as much and had a super young team and then to come in there and establish and they got better with him being there. I think a lot of it had to do with just his mentality and approach um as a leader like it’s not always going to be pretty. It’s not always going to be great, but um we’re going to fight, we’re going to scrap and uh we’re we’re going to do whatever it takes to be get a win. Didn’t he didn’t he do that during the finals? Wasn’t he have like a like a one of his worst shooting stretches ever? Yeah. And then he came back in. Yeah. Uh uh that was uh the Milwaukee series when we were on our finals run. Uh I mean he was like he was shooting under 20% I think or something like that. And then he had the birth of uh his son. Uh and then he came back and he was shooting like 55% from three and from from the field. It was crazy. Um he was like, “Yeah, man.” Literally, he told me he’s like, “Yeah, man. You have a kid, you know, it changes your whole perspective on life, you know.” and he came back and was playing free and like didn’t have a care in the world because he just had a kid and his his total mind shift. Um I wanted to just sort of close with both of your thoughts for the rest of you know this calendar year and then heading into All-Star. What you feel like both sort of like individually and then from a team perspective you want to do to kind of keep this up, you know what I mean? keep the to keep the the the good juju flowing and like what is working and what you feel like um you’re sort of looking forward to over the next like 3 months. I’ll let Cap uh go ahead and take this question first. Go ahead, man. Uh I would say, man, just like from a locker room standpoint, bro, just you know, being thankful we have a great locker room. like you know in the past I’ve been a part of like bad locker rooms and uh that affected everything on the court. Uh so from that standpoint man we got a great locker room, you know, we got guys that we joke around like obviously like I’m an only child so uh when I get to be around you know my teammates I consider them like brothers. Like I really do take that serious. Uh, and being able to like obviously we go through the funk, but you know, not getting tired of doing what’s necessary to win. Like I like I don’t I don’t want us to, you know, get so wrapped up in winning that we be like, “Oh man, we’re winning all these streaks.” And we cough up a game off of just us just like lack of focus. And individually, like obviously we all want to be allstars. We got we got four dudes that can, you know, we keep winning, we could all be there. Yeah. Uh so just from you know individual standpoint I will say the award people awards might not matter but they got to start getting it right with you guys a little bit like at a certain point it becomes like it becomes laughable. Yeah. So you know it’s going to be when you least expect it though. It’s going to be when you’re like I got no shot and that’s when it’s going to happen. Bro then that’s why like I just you know I’m one of the people I really believe in faith. you know, you kind of like have to like not want it and then get it or like you got to like really ignore it. Yeah. Like that’s the thing, you know, I’ve I’ve I’ve gotten to understand throughout these years like you know, you sometimes you just got to be like, “All right, bro.” Like just just leave it over there and just keep focusing on the task at hand. Cuz like I said, winning takes care of a lot of this. Like we we we stay top in the East. We we can go be allstars. like it’s going to happen because we focused at the task at hand. Like you know that’s the that’s the biggest thing to me all 15 guys just being focused like winning cures everything. Like you shoot bad and we win. You don’t feel as bad when you shoot bad. Mhm. You know what I mean? You go three for 15 and we win the game. You be like dang bro I shot bad. But like you lose then it’s like you thinking about man if I would have made half my shots we would have won. or like you know now you got people in your DMs man you know when you win you kind of look at it and be like bro we won like whatever but like when you lose it’s like now you you trying to overcorrect everything in your mind you’re like man like are my mechanics off like am I not in a rhythm then you start overthinking basketball and like that’s the thing I I want us to have a like a free flow uh like everybody just we’re just just play basketball like we win games play basketball and it’s like it makes it easier on every on everybody. Yeah. For me, um I just want to keep this up, man. I like I really really like um the team that we have. Uh like Bam said, the locker room um is great. You know, everybody’s involved. Everybody’s talking from like the two-way guys coming up and down like you really feel like the togetherness in uh the locker room and within the team. Um so continuing to have that because it’s going to carry you throughout this course of the season. It’s so long. You know, there’s going to be es and flows. guys. We’ve already experienced guys in and out the lineup uh with injury and things like that, but um when you have that group that is still pulling for one another and and wanting everybody to be successful, you can still accomplish great uh great things. Um so I want to keep that flow up and then and having the mentality um to go out there and like [ __ ] everybody, like literally [ __ ] everybody. like still have that mentality of when we’re 0 and6 in preeason and everybody said that this was going to be the year that um boy they was on us boy it was like it ain’t looking too good for y’all like that that that that I didn’t realize they were that bad dur preseason yeah they were killing us in preeason and preseason it’s like and the thing is like we would get right to the point where like I’m like okay they tired they about to crack and then be like all right y’all go sit down and I’ll be Yeah, they didn’t take that in. Like we’re not playing our normal minutes, but like the mentality of them counting us out. Um like I want us to have that mentality throughout the course of uh this season, especially to end this year. Um out strong and then like obviously individually like wanting to be an all-star um haven’t been shy about that. Um I was going to say and also where the All-Star game is this year. I feel I’m excited for that. Little jab, you know, but uh that be hilarious. Uh yeah, that that’d be awesome. Uh kind of complete the full circle. Um yeah, man. But yeah, I mean individually that. But like Bam said, like I’m not so focused on trying to be that. Um cuz I know winning is the most important thing and winning will take care of of the accolades that come with it. Like be top in the East, top team, like what how can they not, you know? So um just being focused on winning, you know, you take care of that. That’s the most important thing. and keep the main thing the main thing and then everything else will take care of itself. The goal is no conditioning test next fall. Fact. Fact. Listen. I’m getting older, man. Listen, you Yeah, we got to get you one, dog. Listen, man. Listen, bro. We got to get you one. That’s all I’m missing for real. That’s why I was like, dog, listen. And the thing about it, DP, don’t don’t say that style. I mean, but to me, like I get DPO, but like my peers, like the respect of my peers is what like I value more. Like I’m like, when it comes to the other side of the ball and they’re like, “Nah, bro. Just go put him in the, you know, the corner somewhere.” Like, you can’t I was like, “You can’t really like Yeah, man. that like like you can’t really like if you look at a game you’ll probably be like man they just got bam standing in the corner like he’s just standing in the corner but it’s like it’s scheme to be like no take him out of the action put him over there and just let him just stand there and uh so it’s like the respect from like coaches and and and my peers to be like man go stand in the corner like I value that now that is that is probably like the biggest thing yeah like that that’s a like a a a great formal handshake feel me? Like, yeah, man. Like, it’s all due respect, but you got to go snap over that. That’s how that’s how I felt. That’s how I felt. Like, I don’t get the respect media wise, whatever. But like knowing like you get the respect of the coaches like, “Yo, man, like I want you on my team. I’ve been wanting you on my team, man. Stuff you did like I respect that.” Or like the players like, “Man, you cold.” Like, or like even like top players from other teams like, “Oh, man. Like, Normandy to come play for us.” like that stuff right there is like the biggest compliment rather than oh like you got all these accolades and things like that. Um like I I do agree like that’s like the biggest compliment cuz like I said like sometimes it’s it’s political like you know they’re pushing somebody else and you know somebody on that team gets becomes a beneficiary of like of that. So for me it’s like my like my peers know like I like and that’s the one thing I you know I respect about it even when it comes to all stars like when it comes to allstar voting I always look at the player vote like you know when I’m always top in player voting I’m like nah my my peers like really respect me and and that’s what that’s what it boils down to like now you can’t control the media and all that other stuff but like when if you know you know. Yeah. Like when when people compare locker room votes come in and they ask you who you think should be and then you see guys is saying that it should be you like that’s the respect. It’s like no I got I got some respect around here. That’s a good way to end it. Yeah.

It’s the YM3 Miami Heat episode featuring Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell!

The two Heat stars dive into their individual careers, as well as the team’s explosive offense this season, what it’s like playing for head coach Erik Spoelstra (including why Bam hated Spo at the beginning of his career), player development in the Heat organization, and more. They also share the intense conditioning tests Heat players must pass, their team’s goals before the all-star break, and what NBA awards mean to them. Let’s go!

00:00 Intro
0:25 First impressions of Norman
2:30 Norm flying under the radar
6:10 Bam on his Team USA experiences
12:20
14:25 Norm on maintaining the chip on his shoulder
17:52 Breaking down the Heat offensive system
22:55 The Heat’s conditioning program
26:45 Norm on being traded to the Heat
28:50 Playing for Coach Spo
34:30 The Heat’s player development
38:50 Bam’s advice to Kel’el Ware
40:35 Can Heat Culture be coached
46:35 Norm’s FVV praise
49:00 Goals for before the all-star break
55:10 Respect from peers over NBA awards

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Previously The Old Man and the Three w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter