Inside The Heat

Duncan Robinson Calls Out Miami Heat’s “Marketing” Stunt

Bryan Townes|
Oct 23, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley addresses the crowd during the Pat Riley Court dedication ceremony at halftime at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Oct 23, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley addresses the crowd during the Pat Riley Court dedication ceremony at halftime at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat’s famous "Heat Culture" motto has gained popularity in recent years.

Now, the slogan has become a topic of mockery for many NBA fans, including Heat supporters. Despite being one of the most successful organizations in the league, with three championships and seven Finals appearances, most disagreed with the team's creation of the Culture Jerseys and Culture Court, which detailed a short explanation of the values they pride themselves on. Having things such as those painted a target on the Heat, and it wasn’t a good look when it resulted in a Play-In Tournament loss and a first-round exit to the Boston Celtics in five games. 

On the Young Man and the Three podcast, Duncan Robinson explained he was also wasn’t a fan of the Heat’s idea to create tangible aspects to market the standards they try to live by. 

“Yeah, I think a lot of it stems from Coach Riley,” Robinson said. “Obviously, I love the organization and I have benefited from it a lot. We had some great runs and great times. I will say, when they started to sort of shift into like a marketing thing, I think it lost a little bit. At least for me, as somebody who, when I got there, I didn’t necessarily know about Heat Culture or hear about it in that way. And then you get in between the walls and see it manifest in the day-to-day. Then you buy into this. I’m not coming at the missteps of the organization, but when we had the Culture jerseys and were on the court, I think it ripened us for people to make fun of us.”

RAJON RONDO ISSUED ULTIMATE CHALLENGE TO LEBRON JAMES DURING 2020 NBA FINALS

Despite COVID-19 running rampant in 2020, the NBA transitioned to the unique Bubble format.

The Miami Heat won the Eastern Conference by upsetting the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the No. 3 seed Boston Celtics. Although their primary star was Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic was the leading scorer. Dragic and three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo got hurt in Game 1 of the Finals against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Their injuries led to Butler taking over and the birth of “Playoff-Jimmy.” In the Finals, he averaged 26.2 points, 9.8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds on 55.2 percent shooting and 30.8 percent from three-point range. 

Lakers guard Rajon Rondo explained on Dwyane Wade’s The Why podcast about challenging James to shut down Butler. This was after Butler's two signature triple-double performances of scoring at 35 points.

“We get to the Finals, and like I said, Jimmy is going crazy,” Rondo said. “We’re in the film room again, and Jimmy had a crazy triple-double, like a 40, 10, and 10. I’m like Bron, what are we doing? And the rest is history. `Bron stepped up and took the challenge. He stuck Jimmy that Game 6, they play me, everybody else is cracking, and we end up winning.”'

ANALYST CHOOSES MIAMI HEAT’S KEL’EL WARE OVER NO. 2 PICK FOR ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM

Prior to his rookie season, the Miami Heat's goal was to get Kel’el Ware NBA-ready and playable by his second year.

Now, Ware is in the top 10 for Rookie of the Year voting and a candidate to be the Heat’s latest player selected for All-Rookie First Team. He’s averaging 9.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting. 

Ware has excelled alongside Bam Adebayo up front, allowing the three-time 

All-Star to return to his natural power forward position. Ware has thrived on the glass and in rolling to the basket for lob attempts and putback opportunities. He is tied with New Orleans Pelicans’ Yves Missi for the most double-doubles by a rookie with 14.

On The Zach Lowe Show, the basketball writer/podcaster discussed who he would have in his All-Rookie First Team and why Ware should earn a spot over Alex Sarr, selected No. 2 by the Washington Wizards.

“I feel really good with Kel’el Ware,” Lowe said. “He is No. 2 in player efficiency rating, nine points a game, and he’s shooting 63 percent on twos. Obviously, his efficiency edge over Sarr is cataclysmically large and due in large part to his role and his team. He is, however, outshooting Sarr on threes, which I think matters. I just feel like he’s been better, and he’s played in really meaningful games."

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook

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Bryan Townes
BRYAN TOWNES

Bryan attended Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia with a focus on sports management. While he didn't grow up an NBA fan, he became one after playing the popular NBA2K video game. From Jimmy Butler to Ray Allen to Chris Bosh, Bryan has followed the Heat for the past several years.

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