Is Miami Heat Culture dying? Kevin Garnett suggests update and broader changes

In April, the Cavaliers outscored the Heat by 122 points in the four games and secured their first-round series. The Miami Heat finished with only 37 wins since the trade deadline, and once again, following their elimination, many have questioned the competence of Heat team president Pat Riley.

On their 'Ticket & The Truth', pros Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett exchanged opinions on where the Heat's way of doing things stands and also spoke about whether the old way of running the team needs a rest.

Miami Heat culture needs to change to return from redundancy, says Kevin Garnett

"You know, Bam looked like, and I was watching Bam, he even said it like, 'It's gonna be some changes from the guy with the white hair.' It look like Heat Culture is dead," Pierce said. "And you gotta push the reset button on that and change the rules, you know, get the bylaws and get the new update."

HEAT Culture essentially consists of fundamental shared principles, expectations, commitments, and traditions that shape how Miami functions both as a team and an organisation. Riley had said about the culture previously, "I set the template for it back in 1995 when I got here – it’s academic. It’s a Culture I think every professional team should start with...however, it’s hard to do that because you have to have the total commitment, absolute total commitment, from players."

Kevin Garnett on Heat Culture:

“Miami since Pat has been there sees themselves as a different team within the league.

Don’t wear the same socks, they don’t do the same things everyone else does… Definitely needs an update sooner than later.”pic.twitter.com/euS1pHJk7d

— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) May 7, 2025

And it's possible that Pierce is advocating for an updated and more inclusive model for different kinds of players. "If you want people to come to Miami, if you want to turn it back around you gotta update the culture. Because that culture right now is running people away," Pierce said.

"What star gonna wanna come there after you see what happened to Jimmy Butler? You know what I'm saying? And then look, you see him thriving in Golden State. He could've been down there, pushing them against the Cavs. Why would you do that? He deserved to kind of play out down there, actually. He still had a lot left in the tank, as we watching right now."

Garnett had a unique suggestion for the team, something that could help free agents thrive. "I would like to see Pat Riley go to the side and anoint Erik Spoelstra. It's a continuation of the DNA. You keep the vibrant-ness and you continue there with Zo and Haslem and all those ex-players right there, you still got Heat culture." Garnett said.

"You got a beautiful city that you can attract a lot of free agents to come and play," Garnett said. "It's just about the culture in which you're creating there and then like P said, the habits that you've shown as a front office, that has to be updated," he added.