Miami Heat to debut boastful culture court Monday vs. Lakers
The Miami Heat are unveiling a new court for their game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Miami’s City Edition culture court will make its Kaseya Center debut for the 2023-24 season on Monday.
The special court features the words “Heat Culture” across center court, a team culture the organization has prided itself in for years.
However, that’s not the only inscription that will grace Miami’s hardwood for games that feature this court. The paint on both sides will now feature the phrase “Hardest working. Best conditioned. Most professional. Unselfish. Toughest. Meanest. Nastiest team in the NBA.”
Are the Heat all of those things? Sure. Maybe. The team’s star forward Jimmy Butler certainly thinks so. During the team’s run to the NBA Finals last season, Butler told reporters that was the case.
When the Heat announced their City Edition jerseys, they made sure to mention the team’s history of generating All-Stars, Hall of Famers, and deep postseason runs. So, clearly, the Heat have walked the walk enough to warrant some confidence, but this level is almost asking for trouble.
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Hubris in professional sports
The court has already had something of a negative impact on social media:
It rarely works out well when one team calls out another, just ask Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. After his team won the AL West for the third consecutive season, Bregman made a short, impassioned speech saying “A lot of people were wondering what it would be like if the ‘Stros didn’t win the division. I guess we’ll never know.”
Well, the Astros were then defeated by their in-state and division rival, the Texas Rangers in the AL Championship Series. They then went on to win the World Series. The Rangers didn’t take too kindly to Bregman’s words. During their parade, World Series MVP Corey Seager made sure to get the last laugh on Bregman.
The Miami Heat are upping the Astros’ ante though, not just attacking one singular team, but the entire NBA.
They are essentially telling every other team “We are tougher, stronger, and can go longer than all of you, which means we’re better than you.” Yeah, that certainly won’t tick any of the most competitive human beings on Earth off, right? It’s like the Cowboys calling themselves “America’s Team” during the 90’s.
What makes this statement even worse is that the Heat aren’t in a position to claim that they are the best team in the league right now. They lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the NBA Finals last season. While the Heat have definitely been good in recent years, they’ve never earned the distinction of being the best in the league. Even through six games, the Heat are just 2-4, and have allowed more than 100 points to their opponents in every single game. For a team that prides itself on its defense, its culture, its nastiness, their defense isn’t as stout as you’d expect.
The Miami Heat will debut their new court tomorrow in their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. You can watch the game on NBA TV. If the Lakers win, don’t be shocked if, during the post-game press conferences, there is some reference to those words on the court.
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