Three teams have been pillars of culture in the modern NBA: the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Miami Heat. It doesn’t matter the player, these three franchises have established the system where players join to fulfill the role, commit to the vision and buy outright. Of the trio, only the Heat are currently competing as they face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, a series in which they are currently losing 3-2. All three teams used the draft to identify players that fit their culture while establishing a development program based on player strengths and prioritizing team-oriented goals.
The Spurs dominated from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, while the Thunder dominated the entire 2010s. The Heat won the championship in 2006 behind Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, then returned to dominate. when LeBron James and Chris Bosh teamed up with Wade in 2010 to win two titles. The Heat are back to the Finals in the Balloons of 2020 and are fighting to make a comeback this year.
This time period is somewhat different from 2006 or 2010-2014. Once again, the Heat are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, finishing third in the regular season and second in the playoffs. They seem to possess a switch that no other team has, a switch that treats them as locked in as a unit, every man causing havoc with sharp communication and rhythmic action. This has been the norm since Pat Riley joined the franchise in 1995, first as coach, then as Executive President of Basketball. He carried the black and purple blueprint with him during his time in New York, where he turned the Knicks franchise into one of the toughest teams in NBA history.
Riley’s successor, Erik Spoelstra, is one of the top two coaches in the NBA. He regularly gets the most out of his players, second only to Spurs’ Gregg Popovich. He has joined Miami since 2008, bringing stability on the sidelines and a consistent, no-nonsense approach that showcases his All-Dawg squad. However, while the 2006 championship team had an older Shaq and a younger Wade, and the early 2010 Heat had three Hall of Fame players, Spoelstra’s current team has no superstars. Well, heat fans won’t agree.
That doesn’t mean they don’t have ballers. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are All-Stars, Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo are former All-Stars, Tyler Herro is the current Sixth Player of the Year, PJ Tucker and Udonis Haslem are old age champions, and Duncan Robinson , Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin are all gems who testify to Heat’s ability to find talent in every aspect of the draft.
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But none of those names deserve to be listed in a Top 10 list of NBA players. Of all of them, Butler has the best argument to be called a “superstar.” Miami Heat fans would undoubtedly say so, as would former Heat players like Shaq. But outside of the Miami Heat fan base, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a majority that agrees. But why?
Well, first, Butler’s career PPG of 17.7 over 11 seasons shows that he hasn’t been able to maintain a 20 ppg average over his career. In contrast, the star facing the Heat in ECF, Jayson Tatum, is on his way to superstardom, currently holding a career average of 20.9 PPG. Additionally, the Celtics’ second-best player, Jaylen Brown, who is widely regarded as a star but not a superstar, has a career average closer to Butler’s 16.5 PPG.
Butler is an elite two-way player, one of the best dribbling defenders and the most vocal leader in the NBA. He’s a fearless opponent who improves every team he’s on by making them a playoff team. He did it in Chicago after Derrick Rose left, in Minnesota, in Philadelphia, and since joining the Heat, he’s taken them to the Finals. So why isn’t he a superstar? Unfortunately, not everyone is chosen as one. While Butler has the intangibles of a superstar, he doesn’t have the material gifts or offensive dominance to rank with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić or LeBron James.
Butler is in the same rank as Paul George, Penny Hardaway, Ray Allen, John Starks, Kevin Johnson and Tony Parker. Butler would make one of the two best picks for the championship team, but his teams have been and will continue to lack him. as the primary choice when committing a crime. If only his offensive game could keep up with his killer instincts and heart, he would have been a champion by now. Butler’s PER 23 is the fourth highest of his career. He has a career of 21 PER. Among the previous so-called true superstars, Durant’s career PER is 25, James’ career PER is 27, Dončić’s career PER is 24 and Antetokounmpo’s career PER is 24 ,5. Butler’s shooting career numbers also leave much to be desired. He averages 32 percent from three and 46 percent from the field, especially when you factor in Butler’s contract, which pays him $36 million a year.
But Butler is not the only one who can be called overrated touch. Adebayo is averaging 19 and 10 this season, good numbers, but not what you’d expect from a physical specimen as one of the strongest strikers in the NBA, capable of defending all year. location. But Adebayo frequently disappears during playoffs. He’s been outmatched and underwhelmed by the big boys in almost every series of his youth career. As the Heat’s undisputed second best player, in the 2020 Finals he averaged 15 and 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Across four games against Boston, he averaged 14 and 7. While Adebayo dominated games in the regular season, playing at an age where most big players feel more comfortable outside of the paint and after the three-point line, his continued disappearance in the long run and the entire playoff series is unsettling.
Heat’s real MVP is coach Spoelstra. Behind the game planning, rotation and calling, the Heat are frequently overworked while tending to be less athletic, older, and less talented than their playoff rivals. Spo was the main reason the Heat once again had one more shot at the Finals after this season. The Heat often have trouble scoring in these playoffs, mainly because they don’t have superstars. And while Butler’s 26.5 ppg in this year’s playoffs shows his ability to get into the playoffs, the next highest scorers are Adebayo with 14.5 and Herro with 13.5. Spoelstra can only do so much from the sidelines. We know what he can do with a superstar. We even know what he can do with three. But bringing this Heat core to the brink of contention twice in the past three seasons, without a superstar superstar or second-scoring option, could be his greatest achievement.
