When the Miami Heat entered the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed, not many would have given them any shot at reaching the Finals but they have done just that.
While the likes of Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin deserve a lot of credit, the team’s success has once again been masterminded by head coach Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra’s journey with the Heat has been an incredible one, as he has come a long way since joining the franchise back in 1995.
“Erik Spoelstra started out as a video coordinator with the Heat in 1995. 28 seasons later in Miami:
-812 career wins
-3x champion (two as HC)
-7x East titles & NBA Finals appearances”
Erik Spoelstra started out as a video coordinator with the Heat in 1995. 28 seasons later in Miami:
-812 career wins
-3x champion (two as HC)
-7x East titles & NBA Finals appearances
Job’s not finished for Coach Spo 🐐 pic.twitter.com/B1DIQlTMmw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2023
Two years after he started off as a video coordinator, Spoelstra became an assistant coach in 1997 and it was a title he held for 11 seasons. In 2008, Pat Riley chose him as his successor after stepping down as head coach and it’s safe to say he made the right decision.
After winning the title in 2006 as an assistant to Riley, Spoelstra led the Heat to four straight Finals from 2011 to 2014 as head coach during the Big 3 era of LeBron James. Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. They won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, but he never really got the credit for it.
Spoelstra then led the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020 against the Los Angeles Lakers and while they lost in six games, he did a fabulous coaching job to get them that far.
He has now shown once again this season why he is one of the best coaches in the league. To take this eighth-seeded team all the way to the Finals is very impressive and he has them four wins away from yet another championship.
Erik Spoelstra Had Guaranteed The Heat Would Win This Series After Game 6
Following their crushing defeat at the buzzer in Game 6, it was hard to see how the Heat would bounce back from it for a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics on the road. Most teams would have crumbled, but Spoelstra’s leadership ensured that wasn’t going to happen.
He had guaranteed that his team will win Game 7 and they did it in some style by blowing out the Celtics. Spoelstra is now in his sixth NBA Finals as a head coach, which is tied for the most among active coaches, with Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr having also made it to six.
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