Pat Riley is known for his ‘military-style’ approach to basketball. The Heat General Manager has a reputation for running a tight ship, often placing unrealistic expectations on his players. One of Riley’s former players, Antoine Walker, recently was on the popular hoop podcast, ‘All The Smoke‘, when he backed Riley’s reputation as a strict ‘disciplinarian’. Sitting down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the former Boston star detailed his experience of playing under Riley’s system,
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Riley was a stickler for ‘measurements’, often handing out a list of metrics that players had to abide by, “Every Monday you get weighed in. Every Monday they pinch you. They pinch you every Monday…”
From body fat percentages, to drill numbers, Riley had a set of expectations that had to be met, with defaulters often getting ‘punished’ with ‘extra work’,
“One thing about Pat is that he was very professional, and the fines were laid out. I think at that time it was $2000 if you dont make body fat. So ain’t no argument, ain’t no embarrassing you. It’s just, $2000 gon be out your cheque.”
Even Antoine Walker once faced a similar situation when the 6’9″ forward didn’t meet Riley’s demands, when he first joined the team in 2005. Recalling Riley’s punishment for the defaulters, Walker said,
“It was me, Posey [James Posey] and Shaq. We ain’t make our number…We had to do two-a-day [two practices a day]. So, we would go in the morning, lift weights and run, and come back at night and shoot.”
Riley’s methods, though unorthodox, led Miami to three Championships since he joined the Heat in 1995. Instead of acquiring the best talent, Riley’s focus has always been on bringing the best out of his available roster, a method that still drives the Miami organization to this date.
Shaquille O’Neal never saw eye-to-eye with Pat Riley
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players the league has ever seen. While he was a menace on the floor, the big fella was rather difficult to coach off the floor. This would also be the case when he left Los Angeles to join Miami in 2004, as Shaq bumped heads with then-coach, Pat Riley from the jump.
One of the central points to Riley and Shaq’s conflict was the HC’s insistence on Shaq being a certain size and weight. O’Neal, who saw no legitimacy in Riley’s demands, clapped back at his former coach in his 2012 book ‘Shaq Uncut‘,
“[Pat[ He was very serious about it. He expected all the guards to have 6 per cent body fat, the forwards to have 7 to 8 per cent body fat, and the centers to have 10 per cent body fat. It made no sense to me.”
Riley’s unrealistic expectations did show their results, as Shaq ended up winning his 4th title with the Heat. Miami also became Shaq’s last successful stint as a starter for a team, as he quickly fell off after departing from the Heat. However, if anything Shaq used his physique to his utmost advantage on the court to dominate opponents and give some mind-boggling dunks. More than that, he loved his style of play.
