Max Strus delivers the worst motivational speech in NBA history, then goes 0-for-9

Max Strus may have meant well, but he basically delivered the NBA version of “hold my beer” to the universe — and the universe made sure to deliver karma in real time.

Hours before the Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely smoked in Game 5 by the Indiana Pacers, Max Strus reportedly sent a fiery group text to his teammates:

“If you don’t believe, then don’t show up for work.”

Well, Max showed up. And then promptly forgot how to play basketball.

Strus finished with zero points, missed all nine of his shots, and watched his team get bounced from the playoffs in a 129–109 embarrassment. The motivational quote — which sounded like it was ripped from a bad locker room scene in a D-list sports movie — immediately went viral once TNT’s Jared Greenberg shared it on air. And rightfully so.

Max Strus Becomes Meme Material in Record Time

Max Strus sent a group text message to his Cavs teammates before game 5:

“If you don’t believe, don’t show up for work.”

Max Strus went 0/9 and the Cavs were ELIMINATED

😭😭😭

pic.twitter.com/lY6UV3CMGZ

— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) May 14, 2025

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Had Max Strus dropped 25 and hit a few clutch threes, maybe that message lives forever in Cavaliers lore. Instead, it lives on NBA Twitter where people are treating it like the “Live. Laugh. Love.” of elimination game speeches. The kind of quote that might look great stitched on a pillow, right next to a stat line that reads 0-for-9.

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It’s almost impressive. Like, how do you deliver a rally-the-troops message and then immediately follow it up with one of the worst playoff performances of the year? If nothing else, Strus now has range — just not the shooting kind.

If You Don’t Score, Don’t Send the Text

Look, team leaders are supposed to motivate. But if you’re gonna tell the locker room to “believe,” you better not follow that up with an offensive disappearing act. Max Strus tried to step into a leadership role, and instead tripped over his own hype.

And sure, Strus did grab seven rebounds and dish out two assists, but nobody’s writing speeches about that. This game was a blowout, a meme, and a lesson all in one.

Max, next time maybe just hit “draft” instead of “send.”