It took Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra a few extra minutes to make his way out of a Bahamian restaurant after a recent dinner, getting stopped several times by fans with photo requests. He obliged them all. After all, they weren’t calling for his head. Or throwing something at it, for that matter. Guiding the […]
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has signed a contract extension, a to a person familiar with the deal told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the deal. Spoelstra has been the coach of the Heat for five seasons, and has a record of 260-134. […]
Erik Spoelstra has the Miami Heat aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals, but it was a life-altering decision nearly 20 years ago that set him on this path. In 1995, Spoelstra had his choice of two job offers, and family seemingly on both sides of the fence. Read more from USA […]
Erik Spoelstra has either the easiest or hardest coaching job in the NBA. Here’s why it could be the easiest: The Miami Heat coach has at least four potential Hall of Fame players in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen on his roster, and perhaps the deepest bench in the league. He […]
Jason Collins announced that he is gay Monday morning, a decision that Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra applauded. Furthermore, Spoelstra doesn’t think that Collins’ announcement would hurt his chances if the Heat were to look at him as a free agent. Jason Collins made a very courageous decision by becoming the first active gay […]
Miami is the most talented team in the league, surely a mitigating factor in Spoelstra’s candidacy. But when you line the facts up, they’re overwhelming: • Miami (65-16) has the third-best record among defending champions in league history and is the 16th team in league history to win 65 or more games (if the Heat […]
“But what did he do?” I can hear you thinking. “Any coach can roll the ball out for those three guys and earn a bunch of wins, right?” I could build a case that simply keeping the Heat doing what they do for this long merits serious consideration for Erik Spoelstra as coach of the […]
The NBA announced today that Miami HEAT Head Coach Erik Spoelstra was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March. This marks the fifth time Spoelstra has earned the monthly honor, tying Pat Riley for the most in team history, and 13th time a HEAT coach has won the award. Additionally, he […]
The HEAT beat the San Antonio Spurs without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but two regular season wins don’t make Miami the superior team. Erik Spoelstra has always cared more about his own squad than their opponents, and the HEAT have worked to develop good habits over the past three years. In the final seconds […]
The sad reality is that Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will never truly get the respect that he deserves. It’s unfortunate, really. After all, Spoelstra is a self-made man whose meteoric rise all but epitomizes the American dream. But the lack of credit that he’ll receive for leading the current iteration of the Heat […]
Even as the victories have mounted, Pat Riley’s long-ago voice continues to resonate with Erik Spoelstra. So the victories over the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors over the weekend were viewed from a slightly different prism from the Miami Heat coach than perhaps his players. “Look, my boss came up with the term, ‘No rebounds, […]
He’s searching for stuff to complain about. The slightest of statistics, of course, can be cut and edited into video form for review. The most subtle of trends can be fleshed out and shoved into a scouting report. But, really, that’s all busy work at this point. He might as well spend his off days […]