It is the latest Spo-ism, another morsel from Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra that either can inspire or fall on skeptical ears.

After nearly a year of basketball silence, as he recovered from May 2021 quadriceps surgery, Victor Oladipo was all ears.

So the veteran Heat guard allowed the message to resonate.

“We are just going out there every night and just trying to be a star in our role,” Oladipo said amid this Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers that moved to Wells Fargo Center for Thursday night’s Game 6. “We try to say all the time, Spo says it all the time, ‘Be a star in your role.’

“And I understand what my role is on this team, and every night I try to be a star along with everybody else. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

With the nuanced phrasing, Spoelstra has created a star system that allows anyone and everyone on the roster to stand as a star.

“It just shows the kind of depth and the kind of human beings we have on this ballclub,” Oladipo said.

With Kyle Lowry sidelined by a hamstring strain, it has reconfigured Oladipo’s role.

And so, from a career built as a starting shooting guard he has emerged as quarterback of the second unit, better allowing Tyler Herro to get back to his scorting instincts with that unit.

“Either way,” he said, “I just go out there and just play, and whatever they need from me, whatever they ask of me. I just go out there and do it to the best of my ability and do whatever I can to help the team win.

“If they need me to play the backup one, if they need me to play the four, the five, whatever the case may be, I just go out there and do whatever I can to help our team win.”

To Spoelstra, Oladipo has been a star in his own role simply by getting to this point, contributing to a team with visions of a deep playoff run, at a stage that previously stood as a roadblock for Oladipo.

“I think the biggest story about Vic is the commitment to get his body right, get him mentally, physically, emotionally ready,” Spoelstra said, with Oladipo not returning until March. “And then to be vulnerable, just to be available.

“I’ve said this many times, but there are not a lot of players that would do that, that put themselves out there for the team if you’re not guaranteed a specific role. And this role is different than who he’s been when he’s been at the top of his game. He’s a go-to player. And you’re talking about a full-time starter and an All-Star player, All-NBA, like leading the league in steals. Like all of these things are that of a one or two option. And here he’s playing a totally different role.”

It is what makes the “star in your own role” particularly apropos.

“He’s embracing it,” Spoelstra said. “It’s growing by the week. But I think it’s a big-time credit to his competitive character and his willingness just to give to the team, regardless of whether that fits exactly who he was before.

“And he’s shown, if he has those opportunities, in terms of usage, he can be who he was before. And at times, we do need that. At times we need him to fill other roles. And he’s embraced all of that.”

A star.

In his role.

“That’s why I respect him so much,” Spoelsta said. “I admire him for that. This is also the first time he’s been part of a team that’s been out of the first round. And he’s just soaking this all in. And he just wants to give and help and serve.

“Wouldn’t we all be better if we were all like that in our daily occupations, no matter what we do?”

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