Dion Waiters has long been known to have the confidence and swag that only a few select stellar players in the NBA can pull off.
While the Philadelphia-born shooting guard isn't at the stature of a James Harden or a DeMar DeRozan when it comes to the league's best, his belief in himself is unrivaled, whether the spotlight is right on him or not.
Coming off a good season-and-a-half run with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team rescinded his rights shortly after Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, forcing him to look at his options around the league.
Teams had committed their big-time money to the premiere stars by that time and the 25-year-old was looking for an opportunity, sitting down with Miami Heat president Pat Riley.
The long-time coach-turned-executive sat back cool and patient, sharing his vision with Waiters as his hair, “slicked back like Pacino,” was one of the most notable descriptions from their meeting.
The 72-year-old coach sat back and asked:
per Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated:
“What are you going to do? What are you going to do when there’s four minutes left, and we need you to score, and we need you to lead the team?” Riley asked Waiters.
“I know what I’m going to do,” Waited responded immediately, “I know I haven’t had the opportunity yet. But I was born to destroy.”
Riley laughed.
“I love it.”
Waiters backed up his words, delivering clutch scoring aplenty during the team's furious 30-11 run during the latter part of the season, missing the playoffs only by a tiebreaker after reaching the .500 mark.
The Syracuse standout had taken down the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors with his late-game heroics, posting back-to-back 33-point performances, which turned into an unforeseen 13-game winning streak that sparked the team's unexpected U-turn mid-season.
Waiters was rewarded for betting on himself last season over the summer, signing a four-year, $52 million deal to remain with the team as the starting shooting guard.
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