"Being locked in it affects you": Andre Iguodala outlines major downside of 'Heat culture', cites missing wide open shots
After the 2018-19 season, the Miami Heat acquired Andre Iguodala via a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Iguodala ended up playing two seasons with the Heat.
During those two seasons in Miami, Iguodala averaged 4.4 points per game (39.6% shooting, including 32.3% from 3-point range), 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
In an appearance on JJ Redick's "The Old Man & The Three" podcast, the former Heat forward talked about his experience with the famous "Heat culture."
"In my second year in Miami, we were like last in the league in wide open shot percentage," Iguodala said. "I noticed that stress of like just being locked in it affects you. Like, don't miss a wide open shot because you working out there like you working, practice harder than the game.
"I always tell guys like, the game is easy we work too damn hard to be stressed on the court. But you just, your brain is always locked in of like don't make mistakes sometimes because you're so locked in, we missed a whole lot of wide open shots."
From Iguodala's comments, it's evident that he didn't take shots at the hard-nosed style of basketball being played by the Miami Heat. However, he did highlight the downside to it, which is that the mentality of the culture itself sometimes gets to the players.
By continuously playing hard at both ends of the court, players end up feeling stressed out that the offensive side of the ball suffers from it. Andre Iguodala mentioned that the pressure to not make mistakes eventually fills up and affects the players' enjoyment of the game.
Andre Iguodala gives praise to the Miami Heat
Even if Iguodala's time in Miami only lasted for two seasons, Andre Iguodala cherished his time playing for the organization as he talked about it on Gilbert Arenas' "Gil's Arena" podcast:
"When you go to Miami, if you don't really know what you're getting into, you're in for a rude awakening. It's like a culture shock. When you tap into what it is, I always speak highly of it. Once I was in there, we went to the Finals in the bubble, and the next year, we didn't have such a great year.
"But I said to myself if I'm ever in a position to run a team, I'm taking like 95 percent of this."
Iguodala respects what the Miami Heat stands for, as it was different for him when he arrived there, but ended up appreciating what the team was trying to achieve.
Additionally, Andre Iguodala also made sure to praise the President of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley.
"Pat got it on lock," Iguodala said. "Pat is like, 'I'm in the business of winning.'"
It makes sense to call Pat Riley a winner. This is because of what Riley has accomplished, from winning four championships with the LA Lakers and one ring with the Miami Heat to solidifying what the "Heat culture" of the Miami Heat is all about.