There are many legendary coaching stories involving Miami Heat team president Pat Riley.
This one, however, is perhaps the strangest.
Former Heat center Hassan Whiteside recently shared his story during a recent appearance on the OGs podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. It was back when the Heat were considering signing Whiteside, then a trade player, in 2014.
“The hardest workout of my life,” Whiteside said. “He was wearing a suit, slicked back hair, collared shirt. I’m seriously about to pass out.”
And this is where it gets weird.
“It wasn’t very skillful,” Whiteside said. “It was just full-court dunks. He was like, ‘Lick your hands and hit the backboard as high as you can. I’m getting all kinds of germs from that backboard.'”
Miller and Haslem, both former Heat players, explained what Riley was doing.
“One thing about Coach Riley, man, he just wanted to see if he could break you,” Miller said.
Haslem added: “He knew the talent was there,” Haslem said. “He just wanted to see you mentally.”
Whiteside passed the test with flying colors. The Heat signed him that season. He went on to become one of the first G League players to become a sensational rotation player. At one point, Whiteside played like he belonged at the top of the league’s centers. He was named to the All-Defensive Team in 2016 after being the NBA’s best defensive player.
The success was short-lived. Whiteside never reached that level again after being traded to Portland in the summer of 2019.
Shandel Richardson is the editor of Miami Heat On SI. You can contact him at [email protected]
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