Longtime Miami Heat trainer Ron Culp, whose banner hangs above Heat court, dead at 75

Banners commemorating the careers of six members of the Miami Heat hang above the team’s court. Ron Culp is one of them.

Tuesday, the team noted the death of the franchise’s first athletic trainer, on June 9, at the age of 75.

Unlike the retired jersey numbers of former Heat players Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, which hang from the west rafters of the facility now known as FTX Arena, Culp’s banner stands as a tribute to his 21 seasons with the team, featuring the words “Head Athletic Trainer.”

In a social-media post, the Heat said, “Our Miami Heat family is with heavy hearts upon learning of the passing of original Miami Heat Athletic Trainer Ron Culp. Our most sincere thoughts, prayers and condolences are with the Culp family during this time.”

Heat President Pat Riley followed with a statement that read:

“Ron Culp was the first basketball person I met when I came to Miami 26 years ago. I feel great sadness in hearing the news of his passing as he was not only a colleague, but both him and his wife, Marilyn, were great friends of mine.

“They did so much for not only the Heat, but also the City of Miami that will never be forgotten. His name hangs from the rafters in honor of his great contributions to building this franchise and helping us become a World Champion.”

In a Facebook post, Culp’s daughter posted Monday night:

“Friends and HEAT family:

“I have unfortunate news.

“My dad, Ron Culp, passed away Wednesday June 9th in Medina, Ohio. We are making arrangements for his celebration of life service, and we will post an update here once details are settled.”

Culp spent 37 years as an NBA head athletic trainer, including time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers. He was named NBA Trainer of the Year three times. He served as trainer for the Heat’s inaugural title, in 2006, and also worked as a team consultant when the franchise won titles in 2012 and ’13. Culp also was trainer for the Trail Blazers when that franchise won its lone NBA title in 1977.

The training room at AmericanAirlines Arena was named in his honor.

But it was his first training room, while working for the Cavaliers, that let Culp know just how wild a ride it would be.

“We had a very small locker room in Cleveland,” he reminisced to the Sun Sentinel shortly before his Heat retirement in 2008. “I came back to the arena one night when the circus was in town. I opened the door, however in this corner, there was a huge bear sleeping. And as I turned on the light, I’m not sure who was scared more. But I will tell you this, I left before the bear left.”

From there, the relationships would be built on the human side, with Wade often referring to Culp simply as “Pops.”

“He made my life better, just knowing a guy like Ron Culp,” former Heat forward Grant Long said just prior to Culp’s Heat retirement.

It was during Culp’s first Heat season, in 1988-89, when Long was a rookie, that Culp’s two young daughters would play on a blanket in a corner of the gym at the University of Miami, where the team initially trained.

Of that part of his family and his extended family of the 278 NBA players he worked with, Culp said, “I have two beautiful daughters, but I think I have hundreds of sons.”

Through it all, there was a sense of humor, including once listing “decapitation” on an injury report for a player, just to see if anyone was paying attention.

Culp’s former assistant, Jay Sabol, succeeded him in that position, leaving the Heat with two head athletic trainers in the franchise’s 33 seasons.

Culp worked under Heat coaches Ron Rothstein, Kevin Loughery, Alvin Gentry, Pat Riley and Stan Van Gundy.

A 1969 graduate of Bowling Green University, Culp began his training career at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, before accepting the Cavaliers job. He later joined the expansion Heat in 1988, when Trail Blazers executive Stu Inman moved to the Heat front office.

In 1994, Culp was a trainer for the United States team that won the gold medal at the World Championship of Basketball in Toronto. He was also one of the trainers for the U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.