Jeff Van Gundy Says Miami Heat Could Become Most Unlikely Champion In NBA History

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy talk about what impressed them the most about the Miami Heat’s playoff run.

The Miami Heat’s playoff journey is impressing many across the NBA world, including analysts and former coaches Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

“Losing key players, I wouldn’t have picked that team to wind up as one of the last two standing,” Jackson said in a Tuesday media conference. “It says a lot about their competitive spirit, their culture, Pat Riley, and the job Erik Spoesltra continues to do at an all-time elite level. It says a lot about the guys in uniform.”

Van Gundy says a Finals win places this postseason run as the most impressive in league history.

“If they end up winning the championship, it will be the most unlikely champion that I can remember,” Van Gundy said. “They have beaten the teams with the best two records in the NBA, and then they will have beaten the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. So the journey has been straight through the heart of greatness. Everyone deserves an incredible amount of credit, I just love their team toughness.”

Van Gundy praised their team habits, shutting down the narratives of them being an untalented group.

“As much as it’s a talent game, it’s a habit game,” Van Gundy said. “I think we often skirt over the habits of players and move directly to those things we can look at and see. I think anybody denigrating the talents of the Heat players is making a mistake, and they are overlooking the habits that have been formed that make these players. You don’t get to where they’ve gotten to, earn the minutes they’ve earned, perform the way they’ve performed without having tremendous talent.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.