Lakers’ LeBron James reflects on time with Heat during return to Miami

James credited the Heat with helping him grow as a player, but said the habits that led to his longevity were already there.

MIAMI — With Lakers forward LeBron James sitting in a chair on the baseline after the team’s morning shootaround just a few feet away from the Miami Heat’s “Heat Culture” court, the environment was appropriate for James to reflect on his four years in South Florida.

“I learned a lot being here,” James said. “And it was great times. Obviously, my four years here were great times playing for this franchise, playing under [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra]. Obviously being with [Dwyane Wade] and [Chris Bosh] and [Udonis Haslem] and so many other guys that we had on the court throughout the four years that we had.

“We did some really good things, some really special things down here. This is definitely a big part of my career.”

James played for the Heat from 2010-14, winning a pair of NBA championships (2012, ‘13) and appearing in the NBA finals all four seasons with Miami.

He joined the Heat as a free agent from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played for seven seasons (2003-10) before going to Miami and played another four years (2014-18) post-Miami before joining the Lakers as a free agent during the 2018 offseason.

“I just grew,” James said of his time with the Heat. “I was 25 years old when I came here. Still a kid even though I was seven years in. But I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win championships. That was my only goal. That was the only reason I teamed up with D-Wade and Bosh.

“Because I felt like I couldn’t do it in Cleveland. I tried to recruit guys to come to Cleveland. I tried to go and help the upstairs and it wasn’t happening. So I had an opportunity to be a free agent, so I did what I thought was best, not only for my career but for me at that point in time. People talk about ‘Heat Culture’ – it was a culture change, period. I was changing everything about my life for the first time in my life. To be able to be here and be able to learn and be alongside D-Wade, UD and Spo – those guys who had won it already – it definitely was great to be a part of, for sure.”

Nearly a decade since leaving Miami, James, who’s 38 years old and turning 39 next month, is the oldest player in the league and still among the top players in the association.

James, in his 21st NBA season, entered Monday averaging 24.5 points (56% shooting, 36.1% on 3-pointers), 9.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.7 minutes.

Vince Carter has the record for most points averaged in a player’s 21st NBA season at 7.4 points, just ahead of Dirk Nowitzki (7.3), with both of them doing so during 2018-19. Only four other players besides Carter and Nowitzki have played a 21st NBA season: Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish.

While he credited his time with the Heat for his growth as a player, James made it clear he felt he was already equipped with what he needed to achieve the longevity he’s had.

“I didn’t need to learn it here,” James said. “I didn’t learn anything from that. I’ve always taken care of my body. I’ve been stretching, icing and taking care of my body since I was like an eighth grader. I would still be at this level no matter if I would’ve [come] here or not.”

He added: “Let’s not get it twisted: the four years I was here, it was amazing. I loved everything about it, loved this franchise, this franchise is top tier [and] is one of the best franchises in the world. But as far as my career, my career was going to be my career as far as individually because I know how much I put into the game and I know how much I strived to be as great as I can be. [But] as far as what I able to learn here was second to none, that’s for sure.”

In addition to their “Heat Culture” city edition uniforms, the Heat also debuted their new court Monday night against the Lakers at Kaseya Center.

The court includes a message in the lane that says ‘”Hardest working. Best conditioned. Most professional. Unselfish. Toughest. Meanest. Nastiest team in the NBA.”

James said he didn’t read the message on the court, saying he just saw the ‘Heat Culture’ writing at halfcourt, before adding that ‘Heat Culture’ wasn’t a significant talking point during his time in Miami.

“You just come and you work and the product of how much you put in the work is going to pay off on the floor,” James said. “As a ballclub, we came in, we held ourselves accountable every day and we wanted to put the best product on the floor every night from what we were doing on the practice floor upstairs.”

James mentioned the Heat on a short list of sports franchises he’d consider to have “the same inner workings for the majority of their franchise [history]” to establish the culture Miami has, while also acknowledging the significance of buy-in from players.

“Obviously it starts from the top, but at the end of the day it’s the guys that are in the locker room holding guys accountable,” James said. “You can have the messaging come from the top, but if guys are not abiding by it or doubling down on it in the locker room and then applying it on the floor and applying it off the court and being model citizens, or whatever the case may be, then it still doesn’t matter.

“To just have a steady diet of the same people helps. That’s why I look at it like I do when you say Miami, you have [the] San Antonio [Spurs], you have the [Pittsburgh] Steelers, you have the [New England] Patriots. You have to look at those.”

Tonight's court for Lakers-Heat: pic.twitter.com/OHu04sWp7M

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 6, 2023