Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Play, win and sing together
Battier believes team harmony will have Heat contending again.
MIAMI — The outside view is of an ensemble team that will attempt to overcome the lack of an All-Star by recapturing the cohesion that fueled last season’s 30-11 finish. But to Shane Battier, it is that very harmony that has been a Miami Heat staple going back to the franchise’s Big Three era.
Making the media rounds to promote his Sept. 14 Battioke karaoke event in Little Havana, Battier — who in February was named the team’s director of basketball development and analytics — said the formula largely has remained the same, whether the names are Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters and James Johnson or whether they were LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and, yes, Battier himself.
“The secret is every great Miami Heat team has been an ensemble team to an extent, even in the Big Three era,” he said Monday. “Even though we had names that were a little larger on the marquee, it was an ensemble effort and that’s what this franchise has been built upon.
“In the best years, it’s been ensemble teams. I don’t think that our mindset has changed, if we’re trying to get the best team possible.”
In some ways, even Battier’s role hasn’t changed. As a member of the Heat’s 2012 and ’13 championship teams, he led by supporting. He finds himself in a similar position since moving into the Heat’s front of-
fice.
“The way that I measure my success is my daily contribution, and it’s my opinions and the things that I was hired to do and add my experience and my knowledge of basketball,” he said. “It’s not translated instantly every single night like it did when I played, but it’s a different kind of gratification.
“Obviously I know the Miami Heat culture and love the culture, but it’s been a great education in learning the business side of this game and learning the administration side of this game, which is very different from the basketball side.”
What hasn’t changed, Battier said, is the approach he will take with the 6th annual Battioke, at Ball & Chain nightclub, to benefit his Take Charge Foundation and fund college scholarships and educational opportunities for underprivileged youth.
Even if it means hosting the event for the first time as an NBA executive.
“If you know me,” he said, “you know that I work very diligently in my day job. It’s work hard, play hard. That’s the motto of the Battier household, so when it’s time to play, Battioke is play, even though it’s for a great, serious cause, this is going to be the same clown show that it is every single year, and clown show in the best possible way.”
Among those to previously appear at Battier’s event have been Heat President Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra, as well as James, Wade and Bosh, among other players.
“Some pretty big names have already set the bar very high,” Battier said with a laugh. “There is nothing to worry about in terms of embarrassing yourself. I figure I’ve covered that pretty much every year.”
Like so many players who ended their careers with the Heat, Battier ultimately came to stay.
“I didn’t think I was going to stay,” he said of signing with the Heat in the 2011 offseason and then retiring following the Heat’s appearance in the 2014 NBA Finals. “When I first got to Miami, I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to end my career with a fantastic organization and enjoy some great weather and maybe win a couple championships.’ I didn’t think I was going to stay when I first got here. But I came to really embrace the city.
“I love the city. I love the people. I love the diversity. I love the culture. It felt like home way more than I ever thought when I first signed with the Heat. I never even considered going somewhere else and I’m proud to be called a Miamian and I’m proud that the city has embraced my family and supported the Battier Take Charge Foundation and Battioke. And it’s rare. I talked to a lot of guys who’ve never had that connection with the city their entire career. And I was fortunate to have that connection with the city and a place I hope I spend the rest of my days at.”
Battioke 2017 will take place on Sept. 14 at Ball & Chain nightclub in Miami. The karaoke-themed charity event benefits The Battier Take Charge Foundation, a non-profit organization established by the Battier family to fund college scholarships and educational opportunities for underprivileged youth. Details are available at takechargefoundation.org. Tickets are $100.