Kelly Olynyk has played for both the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat, and he thinks the two franchises share some key values.
Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, you'd be hard-pressed to find two franchises more successful than the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.
The Spurs have five rings, the Heat have three, although Miami has one more appearance in the Finals than San Antonio does. Between "Heat Culture" and "The Spurs Way," both franchises have a long-cemented identity that they can lean into. Both have found massive success through the decades, but the two teams have some key differences.
Kelly Olynyk has suited up for both franchises, and he offered his thoughts before the 136-111 win over the Heat on Monday.
Kelly Olynyk Offers Insight to Spurs and Heat
Kelly Olynyk is perhaps the best journeyman floor-spacing center in the league, enjoying stints with the Celtics, Heat, Rockets, Pistons, Jazz, Raptors, Pelicans, and now the Spurs. He is posting career lows in both minutes and points this season, but recognizes that his role as a depth piece on the Spurs is critical to their overall success.
He's been in the league since 2013 and is more than experienced enough to speak on the similarities and differences between franchises.
"I think it's definitely similar in terms of the way they tackle the game from a mental standpoint, but they're different in their own ways, too," he said of the Heat and Spurs' culture.
"The Heat dive a lot into the strength and conditioning and being in world-class shape, and all that stuff. And so do other teams, but that's their M.O. and they do it really, really well. The Heat are a lot about iron sharpening iron, they say all the time. Confrontation is not the right word, but just working things out."
Under Pat Riley, Miami boast the "meanest" team in the NBA, and it's hard to argue for anyone else. The Spurs are just as disciplined, but are much less in-your-face about it. Tim Duncan's legacy lives on!
"I think over here it's a little bit different in the way that they go about it and tackle it, but they both work in their own ways," he finished.
Olynyk might prefer his Heat days (although he wouldn't admit that!) since he averaged three times as many minutes while in Miami, but the Spurs have him on track to win the first title of his career, and he volunteered for a lesser role this season.