National Basketball Association

New faces, same goal: Heat confident in maintaining championship culture

Published Sep. 26, 2014 7:51 p.m. ET

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MIAMI, Fla. -- The seeds of a championship organization were first sown back in 1995 with Micky Arison taking ownership of the Miami Heat franchise and with the arrival of Pat Riley. With the rapid acquisition of Alonzo Mourning, the process of assembling a competitive team to Riley's liking began.

Riley's vision of a parade down Biscayne Boulevard finally happened in 2006 with the help of a young Dwyane Wade and a dominant presence in the middle in Shaquille O'Neal and Mourning. By the time the back-to-back titles of the Big 3 era were won, the organization had long ago fully matured into a winning culture from top to bottom.

As head coach Erik Spoelstra and his players put it on media day, that drive to continue their winning ways will never be extinguished. The arrival and subsequent departure of LeBron James has reinforced the notion that though players may come and go, the organization will always have the same goals in place each season.

"We have a Heat standard, and that's to compete for an NBA title every year that I've been here for 20 years," Spoelstra said. "Whether the team turned out that way or not, that was the objective from Day One in training camp. That's how we're all wired and that's what we expect with this team. So regardless of what people are saying about us out there or not, we want to start the process of building a very competitive team. It's different and that's what's invigorating about it."

When it came time for Bosh to decide on re-signing with Miami or moving on to a team such as the Houston Rockets, the history of the franchise played a part in his decision beyond the present situation.

"For me, the decision (to return) was based off of what this organization has done for me, and what they accomplished before we even got here -- before the Big 3 era," Bosh said. "I'm just looking forward to the potential of the team that we can build."

While it's understandable that outsiders don't give the Heat much of a chance to stay elite after the loss James, they're missing the point that the Heat's goal has been to field a competitive team and to run the franchise in the most professional manner possible. It's part of the reason why Riley was able to quickly after the loss of James and retain Bosh and Wade in addition to signing free agent Luol Deng.

Beyond the allure of South Beach or the sunny weather, free agents have come to understand that there is a reason why the Heat have missed the postseason only three times since Arison and Riley took over.

"As always, the Miami Heat organization always tries to give a high level," Wade said. "Every year we try to go out with the talent we have, we try to give the best. I think we've done that since I've been here for more times than not. We have the same aspirations as everyone else and that's to be the best team we can be. Hopefully at the end of the day, give ourselves a chance to win."

If there were any worry from fans that this season will be a monumental letdown, veteran Udonis Haslem had something to say about that as he begins his 12th consecutive season with his hometown team.

"I think right now we're going to find out who the real Heat fans are," he said. "I'm not going nowhere. We've been here and we're going to be here through the good times, through the bad times. This organization knows they can count on me and Wade. Now Chris is a part of that. Moving forward, it's our job to pass the Miami Heat culture on to these younger guys. Some day, we're going to have to step away from the game and it's going to be their job to pass it to the guys that come next."

Through it all, Spoelstra will continue to preach the Heat way to his new players in the same manner he's done through his first six seasons as the head coach, in which he has amassed a 314-162 regular-season record and a 63-36 postseason mark.

"We spent a lot of time trying to put together this team and then study the players that we have," Spoelstra said. "We've been able to get the majority of the players here -- certainly over the last five, six weeks. So we spent a lot of time trying to get these guys up to speed on what's important to us: what Heat culture is all about with our Heat code -- what that means -- and the style of play that are the foundations that don't change, in terms of defense and playing together."

While many of the players have changed, Haslem said this season's roster has the potential to catch many off guard.

"We're definitely going to surprise a lot of people," he said. "One thing I will say is that they won't be disappointed in this team. They will not be disappointed in our effort. They will not be disappointed in the way we play the game. We're going to compete. I'm not going to sit here and guarantee a championship, that would be crazy. I didn't even do that when LeBron was here. But what I will say is that people will be proud of this team and we will represent this organization and this city."

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.