Bill Foran: How Wilt Chamberlain Helped him Land in the NBA, The Load Management Dilemma & Pat Riley’s Leadership

Bill Foran first got into strength training with a friend’s set of vinyl weights from Sears. After studying physical education at Central Michigan, his first coaching job helped the smallest high school compete in its conference. He went from a grad assistant job at Michigan State to head strength coach at Washington State in just one year, helping turn around a football program that hadn’t been to a bowl game in 50 years.

The U came calling and Bill moved to Miami, where he prepared the football team to reach a 55-5 record and win two national championships. After consulting with the Miami Heat during their first season, the team hired Bill as one of the league’s earliest strength coaches. The franchise became a legit contender when Pat Riley arrived in 1995, and won the 2006 title with Shaq, Dwyane Wade, and Alonzo Mourning. Bill also ran the weight room when the Big 3 of Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Both won two titles. After 29 seasons as the Heat’s head strength and conditioning coach, Bill passed the torch to his son, Eric. Bill is also the author of several books, including Strength Training for Basketball.

In this episode, Bill shares:

• How Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson helped him get and keep his job with the Heat
•  What Pat Riley wrote on the locker room whiteboard that inspired the Heat to come back from 2-0 down against the Mavericks and claim the 2006 title
• How Riley’s leadership created The Heat Way and which key values it’s based on
• What made Udonis Haslem and Keith Askins his favorite players to coach
• How a Shane Battier speech sparked a 27-game win streak and championship run
•  Why LeBron James has stayed so durable for so long
• Where he thinks the sweet spot is between NBA load management and continual hard work