Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is one of the NBA's 15 Greatest Coaches, which the league revealed on Wednesday (PHT) as part of its continuous 75th anniversary season celebration.
Joining Spoelstra are Red Auerbach, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, KC Jones, Steve Kerr, Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich, Jack Ramsay, Pat Riley, Doc Rivers, Jerry Sloan, and Lenny Wilkens.
A panel of 30 current NBA coaches and 13 former head coaches selected the list in collaboration with the National Basketball Coaches Association. They were asked to vote for the 15 greatest coaches in league history without ranking them, while not voting for themselves.
"I always say Pat Riley set the standard, but Coach Spo improved on it," said Heat legend Dwyane Wade. "You really see his DNA inside the organization. I'm just so proud of him because he's consistent, he does it every day."
"I always say Pat Riley set the standard, but Coach Spo improved on it."@DwyaneWade on Erik Spoelstra being named as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/ltT5yyfnn8
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 9, 2022
Spoelstra, a Filipino-American, is the winningest coach in Heat history. He won two championships with the team (2012 and 2013) and led the franchise to five Eastern Conference titles and 10 playoff appearances.
He was recently named as head coach of the Eastern Conference, led by team captain Kevin Durant, in the 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland. It will be his second All-Star coaching gig; he last coached the East squad in 2013.
Spoelstra is in his 14th season as the Heat's head coach and 27th season overall as a member of the Miami organization.
Before he took over the reins as head coach, Spoelstra served several roles for Miami. He was initially hired as video coordinator and then was promoted to assistant coach/video coordinator, assistant coach/advance scout, and assistant coach/director of scouting over the years before ascending to head coach.
