Cote: Miami Heat loses opener but night belongs to Pat Riley and a legacy of winning, class | Opinion
The Miami Heat’s basketball court was officially named after longtime coach-turned-president Pat Riley on Wednesday night as a part of the club’s 37th season and home opener. It was a long time coming but well-timed as Riley begins his 30th season steering the franchise while he also prepares (as much as anyone can) for his 80th birthday around the corner in March.
In a lengthy halftime ceremony the hardwood where the Heat have won three NBA championships became “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center.” Riley of course should not have to share the title with any corporate sponsor of the moment. I officially invite fans to unofficially but from the heart start referring to the downtown building “Pat Riley Arena.” I know I will moving forward.
Dozens of former players including Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem turned out to honor Riley.
Zo, calling it a “monumental moment,” noted Riley’s name and signature are now and forever “on the floor you commanded, inside the house you helped build.”
Alas, the Heat’s performance did not meet the feel-good result the occasion demanded. Miami would open the new season with a sobering 116-97 loss to Orlando. The result was a bit significant in that the Magic are among the many teams in the Eastern Conference judged to be better than Miami this season.
Heat was outscored 39-18 in the third quarter following the on-court ceremony, and shot miserably overall, with star Jimmy Butler 1-for-8 with three points and Bam Adebayo not much better. Together they shot 2 for 13.
“They absolutely overwhelmed us,” said Spoelstra of Orlando’s jump to start the third period. “[Our] activity level wasn’t there.”
Still, this night was not about one game, one of 82, but about one epic man leading en epoch in not just the Heat’s annals but in South Florida’s sports history.
A standing ovation welcomed Riley to the mic.
“This is beyond even my imagination for a life’s work,” he said. The crowd roared when, after acknowledging his prior stops in Los Angeles and New York. Riley said, “The Miami Heat are and will always be family.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has called Riley a “force of nature” and a “genius” at his craft. If that’s hyperbole, it’s arguable.
Before Wednesday’s season debut Spo said of the court dedication: “It’s a really special moment, not only for myself but for so many of us in the building. These years are going by fast. Thirty years is just like a blink of an eye. He’s brought us all along on the ride and we’re forever grateful for that. He’s given us a blueprint to follow that leads to winning and this is an opportunity for us to acknowledge him and everything he’s done for this organization and for the city.”
Spoelstra wasn’t done.
“It makes him uncomfortable I’m sure, and I love that. This is an opportunity for us to shine a light on him. He doesn’t want that light right now. But when we have this opportunity, we want to just absolutely go for it. He’s meant, obviously, so much to me. He’s the greatest mentor I’ve ever had. And that first loose ball that goes by that signature [on the court] — we better be on that ball.”
This was a night to celebrate not so much a name on a court, but more so a continuing era defined by winning, by class, by the “Heat Culture” he created like blacksmith with a hammer, and by the relentless competitiveness in his reign.
Micky Arison became principal owner of the Heat in 1995 and immediately lured Riley from the New York Knicks. Pretty good hire, it turned out.
Spoelstra had been hired that year to grind film, later becoming head coach in 2008.
That triumvirate marking its 30th season — Arison, Riley, Spoelstra — has given us a top-level continuity and excellence unmatched in our sports history.
In September 1995 the Heat introduced its new hire aboard a Miami-based Carnival cruise ship called “Imagination.” Riley said that day (I was there) that he imagined championship parades down Biscayne Boulevard — and has delivered three so far, in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
In Riley’s first 29 seasons the Heat’s overall won-lost record of 1,316-995 (.569) is second best in the NBA and best in the Eastern Conference. It included 23 playoff appearances, 16 division titles (the most in the league in that span), and seven trips to the NBA Finals.
Perspective: Those 23 postseason appearances since ‘95? The Dolphins, Marlins and Panthers — all around as long — have had 24 since then ... combined.
To further put this extraordinary 30-year run in context, Don Shula, who it seems coached here forever, led the Dolphins for 26 seasons.
What would be Shula’s final season in Miami was just underway as Riley was introduced on that cruise ship. A baton was being passed. That baton remains in Riley’s grip.
“The 30 years, it went fast. It goes fast,” Riley said before the night’s dedication. “I didn’t realize just how fast it goes, and it seems like it’s going faster every day. It’s been a blessing for me. I think it’s unbelievable that I could stay here that long, that anybody in this league can stay somewhere that long. I do thank [Arison] sincerely for bypassing those moments when he probably wanted to ship me out of town. There were those days. But both of us have stayed together.”
We have become accustomed to constant flux in sports, turnover and turmoil. Change.
Since 1995 the Marlins have had 12 different managers not counting interims. The Dolphins are on their ninth full-time head coach since then. The Panthers finally have found a keeper in Paul Maurice on their 18th try. Hurricanes football has not had a head coach stay an entire decade since the 1950s.
The Riley-era Heat’s first 29 seasons have included only five with a losing record, and only one of those in back-to-back seasons more than 20 years ago.
The Dolphins, Marlins and Panthers all have gone through two-decade spells of mostly losing and irrelevance. The Riley Heat never has come close to that.
The present-day Heat, in the sixth year of the Butler/Adebayo iteration, might be in for change if this season disappoints after Miami had a relatively inactive offseason as many other East teams made big moves to improve.
ESPN’s NBA Rank slotted Butler, now 35, the 28th-best player in the league, down from 12th last year. Adebayo was ranked 18th, down two spots. Miami’s betting over/under of 44 1/2 victories ranks 16th in the NBA and eighth in the East, behind champion Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and also Cleveland, Wednesday’s Orlando team and Indiana.
That expected/predicted win total — that’s mid-pack in both the league and conference. That’s average. That’s you’re-fighting-for-a-playoff ticket and nobody’s contender for that elusive fourth championship.
There’s a lot of proving wrong for this Heat team to do over the next several months.
That cruise ship called Imagination was brand new, by the way, when Riley’s hiring was its de facto christening in 1995.
Carnival quietly retired the Imagination in 2020.
Riley isn’t ready to do the same. Not yet.
He kidded Arison the other day about the named-court honor, the timing of it.
“I said to Micky, ‘Is this your message? Are you giving me this honor to push me out of here?’ I said, ‘We can still wait a couple years.’”
Wednesday’s opener was early notice this may be a challenging season.
But, whether he continues building around Butler/Adebayo or may have an overhaul in mind, Riley surely feels he has one last hurrah left, one last whale to reel in, one last championship to win on the court now forever his.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 10:14 PM.
