There are few teams in modern times as memorable as the “Big 3” Miami Heat. Everything surrounding that team was a movie, from LeBron James telling the world that he was taking his talents to South Beach on “The Decision,” to his infamous counting of how many titles the Heat would win after being introduced for the first time.
Every great drama needs a great villain, and for many NBA fans, the Heat filled that role perfectly. They were outstanding, winning two titles, but they weren’t invincible, as they lost in the Finals two other times. During their four-year run, no other team in the league faced even a fraction of the scrutiny.
It’s easy to look back now and say the Heat did so well because they just had more talent than everyone else, and to some degree, that’s true. LeBron is on the shortlist for the greatest players of all time, and Dwyane Wade is among the best shooting guards to ever lace them up. Chris Bosh was an 11-time All-Star and Hall-of-Famer in his own right, while role players like Mike Miller often came through in the clutch, as well.
Talent alone isn’t enough to win rings, though. With that in mind, former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale told Brian Windhorst of The Hoop Collective this week about what the Heat went through to become a championship team.
“It’s the best training camp I’ve ever seen,” he said of the first time the Big 3 Heat practiced together.
“That was on the military base. It’s the best training camp I’ve ever been a part of. Udonis [Haslem] and Chris Bosh tried to kill each other. Dwyane and LeBron tried to kill each other. And it was unbelievable. We never put them all on the same team. We never put a starting lineup together. Juwan Howard was on that team so he was trying to kill people,” Fizdale confirmed what many had sort of known for years.
That group was known for their individual talent, and so Fizdale said that they weren’t worried about being able to put the ball in the hoop. “Every day was a war,” he said, “and all we worked on was our defense. That’s it. Just constantly defensive drills, so our offense was so far behind the rest of the game.”
Instead of staying in a hotel, Fizdale said that everyone roomed in “Army housing,” which only added to the competitive spirit. The toughness that bred, according to him, had a lot to do with that group Heat winning two rings in four years together. “I still say it was a big part of us winning titles later, was because we had that camp,” he said.
When we think of the great teams in NBA history, we often just think about the stars that carried them to victory. Stories like Fizdale’s show that there’s a lot more to becoming a champion than just having the best players. Fans of other teams are tired of hearing about “Heat Culture,” but this is its proof of concept.