'Everything Matters' in Heat Culture, Says Kasparas Jakucionis

The Miami Heat has one of the richest team cultures in NBA history. Ask Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, or any other great that has donned the Heat uniform, and they’ll all tell you one thing: it’s a culture of winners.

NBA rookie and the newest Heat star, Kasparas Jakucionis, has already adapted to that culture quite well. The 19-year-old Lithuanian said as much during a recent interview with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller on The OGs program.

After praising Miami for its beautiful sunny weather and gorgeous aesthetic, the University of Illinois alum broke down why he has already connected with the Heat organization’s ideologies.

“I also like the culture here,” stated the No. 20th pick in this year’s draft. “The team culture. I think it fits me, and I like it more than somewhere you go and they don’t try to win. They just try to do other things.” 

It makes sense that Kasparas feels this way. The Heat have only been around since 1988 and have 3 NBA titles to their name. They have a slew of former players who went on to become Hall of Famers, including the likes of Alonzo Mourning and Chris Bosh, to name a few.

Miller and Haslem also understand the culture that Pat Riley and the Heat squad offer. So when they asked Jakucionis about his thoughts on it, he didn’t hesitate to pull back the curtain and reveal some of its secrets.

“I would say that everything matters,” responded Kasparas. “Not even the practice stuff, but outside of the basketball court. Mental part. We are working with a mental coach now every day. Preparing our bodies for practices before that. I think everything matters here.”

“We are all working toward the same goal, toward winning,” he added. “Everybody just has to add their pieces to it. I think if you just give 100% here and all of you to the team and program, I think everything gonna be alright.”

Based on his own words, Kasparas sounds like he’s already a true Miami Heat guy. He’s bought into the grind, the mindset, and the “everything matters” philosophy that has defined this franchise for decades. Plus, his talent level based on his stint at Illinois, should be enough to get even the most pessimistic Heat fans excited for the new season.

It’s good for Miami to have a guy like him because they are in need of a rebound season. Despite battling it out in the Play-In to make it to the playoffs one year ago, the Heat were destroyed by the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Kasparas does provide some nice scoring depth for them at the point guard position, so hopefully his contributions can produce results for the team on the court.