Andre Iguodala had heard stories _ maybe urban legends _ about what practices are like for the Miami Heat. The Heat turns off the air conditioning on the practice courts at AmericanAirlines Arena. Players are expected to don mouth guards and knee pads because of how physical it can get.
"You hear so many things about wearing knee pads at practice," the wing said. "You're telling a professional basketball player that he's wearing knee pads after 16 years, they'll look at you crazy."
He learned Wednesday those stories are true. Iguodala, who joined Miami (35-19) in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 6, took part in his first real Heat practice in Miami and quickly learned to love it. Iguodala, who won three NBA championships in his last six seasons with the Golden State Warriors, knows what a winning organization is like, and he's buying into the Heat's reputation.
After a rapid-fire introductory course with his new teammates before NBA All-Star Weekend, Iguodala _ and new forwards Jae Crowder and Solomon HIll _ finally had a chance to settle in and start to fit with the new team Wednesday when Miami returned to the practice court before facing the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Heat had a brief practice Feb. 8 in Portland, but it was nothing like what he saw from the more standard Heat practice in South Florida to prepare to face the Hawks (15-41) in Atlanta.
"I really enjoyed practice today," Iguodala said. "The environment in here is really good. It's really a winning environment, and you can see it right away."
Chemistry was a massive part of Miami's success in the first half of the season, and the Heat doesn't expect there to be any issue folding Iguodala _ and Crowder and Hill _ into the mix. It's easy to respect a player with championship pedigree, particularly a player like Iguodala, who has always sacrificed for the good of the team.
"Probably the easiest it would be with any transition is with a guy like Andre, with a very high basketball IQ," power forward Udonis Haslem said. "He knows how to win; he knows what winning is about. It takes sacrifices to win, so with a guy like Andre I think that transition will be way easier than with most guys."
When Iguodala first joined the Warriors in 2013, he was just a year removed from a trip to the NBA All-Star Game with the Philadelphia 76ers. He had averaged double-digit points for eight consecutive seasons. It cost Golden State multiple first-round picks to pry Iguodala away from the Denver Nuggets.
Iguodala started every game he played in his first season in Oakland and then Warriors coach Steve Kerr asked the veteran to come off the bench for the 2014-2015 season. Iguodala, who had never before come off the bench, didn't start a single game in the regular season as Golden State went on to win 67 games and the 2015 championship, and Iguodala won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.
"Bringing in a guy like Iguodala, who has rings and been to the top, and knows what it's like," Haslem said, "it can only help encourage these guys' basketball IQ and confidence out there."
The transition, so far, has been seamless, especially given the conditions. The Grizzlies sent Iguodala, Crowder and Hill to Miami on a trade-deadline deal, and all three joined the Heat in the next few days while Miami was out west for a five-game road trip. Iguodala and Crowder immediately had the green light to play more than 20 minutes per game, and Crowder became a sharpshooter, shooting 60% from three-point range in three games with Miami.
Crowder, another playoff veteran, credited his transition in large part to Bam Adebayo. The All-Star post player exemplifies Miami's pass-first approach to offense, which has let Crowder get plenty of open looks in his first few games with the Heat.
Miami is assisting on the fourth highest percentage of field goals in the NBA, which is the sort of style both Crowder and Iguodala prefer to play. The Heat consider it winning basketball, and the new acquisitions are excited to play in it.
Miami, however, has seven players 24 or younger, most of whom are playing critical roles. Above all else, Iguodala will give them another mentor to emphasize everything the Heat believes is important.
"We're so excited about how much the young players have grown, but for us to really make this about now we do need some veteran experience and guys that have done it at a super high level in the playoffs, and Andre exemplifies that," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But also he's at a point in his career where he wants to mentor and help guys be successful, help teams get to their best version. It's really an important fit for our team right now, for this group."
