As part of a recent interview with Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic recalled the Chris Bosh-like meeting he had when he first met Pat Riley.
Dragic joined the Heat in February 2015 as part of a three-team trade. At that time, he had just made the All-NBA Third Team and was coming off a 48-win season with the Phoenix Suns. Riley, a persuasive sort of fellow, threw all of his championship rings on the table during their meeting.
If this move sounds familiar, it's because Riley used a similar tactic with Chris Bosh when trying to form Miami's Big Three in 2010 — a group of stars that went on to win two titles (2012 and 2013).
“When you have a meeting with Pat, you’re already all eyes and ears. Then he goes into his drawer and pulls out his championship rings,” Dragic says, his voice sounding like his eyes are getting wider. “He tells me to take one, and I can have it for a little while until I get my own.”
As you might expect, Dragic was nervous about taking one of Riley's rings. Still, after hearing all of the stories about Riley's titles, he became motivated and is continuing to use the meeting as inspiration.
Dragic and the Heat have enjoyed a nice ride in the postseason thus far, sweeping the Indiana Pacers and defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. As a result, Miami is in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they're set to face the Boston Celtics.
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