Pat Riley Shares What Made The Big 3 Heat Team Different

Coach, you talk about exit interviews, and I've never told anyone this before, and I've never told you this before, but I was thankful for one you gave me, the exit interview after OKC, where my back was completely gone. And I came in there, we had our exit interview, and I told you I was thinking about retiring and giving it up. And you said, don't do it. You gave us everything. For the money I gave you, you gave us everything. And that kept me going, it kept me motivated, because I was so frustrated, even after winning the championship. So, I just want to say thank you for that. That was unbelievable, especially where I was at mindset-wise, Seven million a year isn't bad, Mike, you know what I'm saying? No, no, not at all. No, and he was worth every dime, he was worth every dime. You know, Mike was like, even though he didn't start all that, he was like a glue guy. We had all those guys on the bench who were like glue guys, they loved being there. That's what I said, I really felt that team liked each other. You had fun with each other, and as great as you were, you would kick each other's ass in practice, you'd practice hard, and when you get on the court against some other teams in this league, you know, that one year we won 27 games in a row, and 13, you know, won 67 games for the season. I mean, that doesn't happen, you know, unless you got greatness there. And so, Mike, you were one of my all-time favorites, I wish I could have coached you. And, you know, but I watched your career, and I just knew you were going to be perfect for this team. And, you know, all the guys advocated for you. I said, okay, who are we going to get next, you know? We made this deal out in L.A., finally came to an agreement with everybody, and then we had to wait for LeBron to do the decision, but, you know, everybody was saying, we got to get Mike, and we got to get Mike. Mike was the first guy we had come to terms with, I think, you know? Yeah, I remember that. And so, once I got Mike to terms, it took you? No, he took all my money. You got enough money. Whoop his ass, he took all my money. So, you said he might have leaked the location, because D-Wade told us the other day that everybody met in a secret location. You just said L.A. Was that where they met at? No, that was the first night. Do you know where the Big Three met at for their secret location meeting? Yes, I know where it was. Yeah, I know where it was. You guys went somewhere up to LeBron's place in Cleveland, I think, to meet, didn't you? Yeah, you had that meeting. We did have a meeting in Cleveland. That's okay. I couldn't, but it was okay for the players to meet. You can do whatever you want to do, but I couldn't be in that meeting. But I knew you were up there having a discussion about something. Look, it was a big deal for you guys. You know, I mean, for Dwayne, for Chris, and for LeBron especially. I mean, you know, probably the top five, three of the top five players in the league at the time. And, you know, we're going to give up our own personal platform and sacrifice, you know, for the sake of a championship, and it might blow up in our face. You never know if it's going to work, but, you know, it was just so great, you know, that night that, you know, LeBron, you know, went on with Jim Gray and, you know, for the decision. I remember being in South Beach, and I was at Red's Steakhouse, and then I think Dwayne was down at Prime or somewhere else. And I'll never forget when he said, I'm taking my talents to South Beach. You could hear the whole place. The city was like, all of a sudden, everybody's out in the streets yelling and screaming. I went out in the street. I went out in the street, and then he yelled in the street and called Leon Rose on the phone. You know, I never forget it. So, you didn't know until then? Huh? You didn't know until then? I knew. Oh, okay. Man, there is no way. There's just no way that he could go up there. I didn't know, but there's no way that he could go up there and say, I'm going to go to, like, New York or go to Chicago. He could have, but I had a good feeling that he was going to come to Miami. Yeah, yeah. We had a ball. Speaking of that night, Coach. Yeah. Speaking of that night, Coach, we have a segment on here from Morgan & Morgan called the Too Easy segment. I'm curious because we talked about this again on D. Wade's thing as well. When LeBron got on stage and talked about not winning one, but not two, but four. It's okay. All the way up to seven. All but seven. And I'm sitting there, and I know I'm going to have to sign with Miami the next couple days. I'm like, what am I walking into? What was your mindset when he did that? Well, I didn't mind at all. I mean, we had a packed house. I know. You loved it. Mike McCullough, who's just a super marketing guy for us, put this whole thing together. You guys come up on stage, and there's smoke, and there's fans are going crazy. I mean, those things don't happen that often in the NBA. And to be able to celebrate it before it even starts was great. But I don't mind, and I think he was kidding, but I don't mind people saying we're going to win. You know, 1987, we beat the Celtics. It was the best team that we had. That team had matured in 1987 to being the best they think they could be as a team. We won 67 games that year. And we won the title. And after four championships, I remember saying to the media at the parade, I guarantee that next year we're going to win it again. And I meant it. And it's important because for 20 years, nobody's ever gone back to back. And for 20 years, nobody ever wanted to say anything about, okay, what's going to happen next year? And so the reason why I said it, and I thought a lot about it, is that I wanted to put more pressure on that team than they've ever had on them. If you guys think you're as great as you are, you can win back-to-back titles. You got to do it. And we're not going to write it down as a goal. Okay, we all guarantee we're going to win it, and then we're going to stick it in the drawer so nobody else can see it. You got to make it public, but not make it public with a hubris or an arrogance. No, because we were good. And so I said, and I believed it. I wanted to put pressure on them. Now, they all got upset. The players got upset. They said, could we just enjoy the summer? Could we go play some golf? Can we go do scuba diving somewhere? And you got to put this kind of pressure on us already. And so I'll never forget, we came back to training camp, and it happened. You know, they were ready, and we ended up going back-to-back titles. And so what LeBron was saying that day, we're not going to win one. We're going to win two. We're going to win three. We're going to win four. I think we could have. And I'm happy you brought up that. If he would have stayed, I think we could have. You're absolutely right. We went to four straight finals, one, two. I'm happy you brought up the Lakers, and I'm happy you brought up the Celtics, because that rivalry was one to be a part of. And I think we kind of translated, and we kind of inherited it here somewhere. We did. OK, so we feel the same way. That's right. I feel the same way. We feel the same way. And I was bad. OK, so just because that other night, I was sick watching Paul and KG walk out with that trophy to start the season. I didn't like it. It didn't feel good. My food didn't taste the same. Just talk about that rivalry, and it's a respectful, hateful rivalry. It is respectful. It is very respectful. But they push us to the limit to find out how good we are, and we push them to find out how good they are. But that's been going on for you for a long time. But that's the best of sports, UD. That's when it's at its best, when two teams that are great, that have a tradition and a history and a rivalry, where you can have that kind of competition. It's the kind of competition where that night, if you don't have butterflies, or if you don't throw up for the game or something like that, you're not ready, because you know how important this is. Look at it. There's been three dynasties, in my mind, in this league. Boston in the 60s, 11 and 13 years for Bill Russell. That's why his number's hanging in the rafters of every arena in this league, because he deserves to be there. So 11 and 13. And then the Lakers in the Showtime, seven trips to the finals, five championships in nine years. And so that was a dynasty. Michael, six and seven years, was dynastic. And I don't know if there's one now. I think you had San Antonio, and you got Colton State winning four. But when you get to a rivalry like that, that becomes so heated, you inherit it. And so what happened to us in the 80s, we inherited the six consecutive losses that my great friend, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor, and they lost to the Celtics. Can you imagine? Can you even imagine your nature, Mike, your nature, or LeBron, or Dwayne, or Chris, losing six times in the finals? You would all go psycho somewhere. I mean, you'd probably spend the rest of your life in the Bahamas at a Tahiti bar or something like that. But it's hard. And so it's so hard to win. And so that rivalry was created. And it was left to us in the 80s to settle it. The albatross was shifted from the 60s to the 80s to beat the Celtics. And we beat them two out of three times. And then when I got here to Miami, man, it was the same way. When they won in the late 2000s, and then we got the big three, that rivalry was incredible with the big three and with KG and Paul. And Paul and KG, as much as they can bust us, they have that kind of respect for us. They won't say it. And I love that about them. And I love that about us, is we're not going to take it from you either. So it's a great rivalry. Only to this day that Larry Bird and I can actually shake hands and hug one another. And man, it's great. Because it's not personal, but he wanted to beat our ass and we wanted to beat their ass. But as you get older, it's such a wonderful feeling to see somebody who has aged that you knew was so great as a player and you had to coach to try to beat him, you know, and he is always trying to beat you. So see, you're like that. Mike's like that. True winners, true champions are like that. They want that competitive, not hate, but that competitive desire to beat somebody else. And that gives you that DNA. So it's hope for me and KG and Paul one day? Absolutely. I mean, you stop yelling at each other all the time, then you'll be fine. But I'd love to have the three of you, KG and Paul, and you and Dwayne, maybe Mike or whatever, have a podcast where you can get after one another without throwing punches. That'd be great. Or sling an insult. That would be an all-timer. I'll tell you one thing. If some swinging get involved, Mike ain't going to be there. I'll tell you that. Mike will be there. That's what I got you for, you D, damn. OG fam, we got another exciting week of hoops coming up and I've got the perfect way to get you even closer to the action on the court. Right now, all new DraftKings customers who bet just $5 will get $150 in bonus bets if your bet wins. Just download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and sign up using promo code OG. The crown is yours. That's right. New customers get $150 in bonus bets if your bet wins after betting just $5. And don't forget to stay in on the action and use your $150 in bonus bets on DraftKings same game parlays for a shot at an even bigger payout. 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