Former Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers recently implied that someone spied on him at a bar during his rookie season and reported back to team president Pat Riley afterward.
Ever since Riley took over as team president, he has run a tight ship in Miami and hasn’t been afraid to call out his players when he’s disagreed with their actions. Just recently, he criticized Jimmy Butler’s decision to troll the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks after the Heat fell to the Celtics in five games in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
It’s worth noting that Butler didn’t appear in a single game during Miami’s short stint in the playoffs thanks to an MCL injury he sustained in the Heat’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers back in the play-in tournament.
Chalmers spent the overwhelming majority of his NBA career in Miami, appearing in parts of eight seasons with the franchise.
Interestingly, Chalmers’ rookie year — when someone was allegedly keeping an eye on him at a bar — was arguably the best year of his Heat career from a statistical standpoint.
He started all 82 games for Miami during the 2008-09 regular season and averaged 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and a career-high 2.0 steals per contest on 42.0 percent accuracy from the field and 36.7 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The floor general also finished tied for 11th in the league’s Rookie of the Year voting that season with Courtney Lee of the Orlando Magic. Former Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose — who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft — ended up winning the award.
Chalmers’ NBA career is best remembered for the time he spent playing with the Heat, considering he only played for one other NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies.
He spent his final chunk of time in the league with Memphis and was a shell of the player he was with Miami. The point guard averaged just 7.7 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting from the field during the 2017-18 regular season, his final season in the NBA.
Perhaps Riley’s strict modus operandi was a contributing factor in Chalmers carving out a memorable stint with the Heat, who won two NBA titles with the help of the former second-round pick.