Erik Spoelstra is living proof that hard work pays off.
Even if you start your career as a lowly video assistant at the bottom of a professional organisation.
Twenty-nine years after Spoelstra began with the Miami Heat, the two-time NBA Finals winner has received a record-setting eight-year, $120million contract extension.
According to ESPN, Spoelstra’s massive new deal features the most commited money in North American coaching history.
“Worth every single cent of that contract!!! Congrats Spo!!” LeBron James tweeted after hearing news of the extension.
Born in 1970 in Illinios, Spoelstra attended high school in an Oregon suburb and attended college at the University of Portland.
He wasn’t even listed as an official assistant coach when he started his unprecedented journey with the Heat.
In 1995, Spoelstra was a video assistant during a time when the Internet was just beginning to take off and smart phones were unheard of.
He learned under the legendary Pat Riley, rising up the Heat’s ranks for the next decade.
The future head coach of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and James was promoted to assistant coach/video coordinator, assistant coach/advance scout and assistant coach/director of scouting before replacing Riley as head coach in 2008.
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According to the Heat’s website, Spoelstra made a name for himself with his game preparation and superb attention to detail.
“In his seven seasons as the Heat’s assistant coach/director of scouting, he had the primary role of developing game plans for upcoming opponents. To that end, he coordinated the video staff and advance scouts while overseeing the development of scouting reports and videos.”
Eventually, Spoelstra was in charge of Miami’s Big Three during a controversial time when James, Wade and Bosh became the villains of the NBA.
Those now seem like the good ol’ days, with James currently the league’s oldest player and a Los Angeles Laker, while Spoelstra has the 2023-24 Heat fighting through injuries to hold a 21-15 record and fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Miami has won the East six times under Spoelstra, while twice winning the NBA Finals.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of his 16-season run as Miami’s head coach has been twice making the Finals without James, turning a gritty Heat squad into one of the NBA’s toughest teams.
“This is a team that a lot of people can relate to,” Spoelstra said after the Denver Nuggets beat Miami 4-1 in the 2022-23 Finals.
“If you ever felt that you were dismissed or felt that you were made to feel less than — we had a lot of people in our locker room that probably have had that, and there’s probably a lot of people out there that have felt that at some time or another.
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“The way this team handled setbacks and adversity to develop a collective grit and perseverance. … Hopefully these are lessons that will transcend this beautiful game. Hopefully these are lessons that we can pass along to our children, that even though it is sport, that you can learn lessons of life from this game. That you can persevere, that you can handle what people may view as mini-failures along the way and become stronger from it, and to be able to overcome things and find beautiful things on the other side of that.”
Spoelstra is $120 million richer because he is one of the NBA’s best coaches.
After replacing Riley, a Hall of Famer who led the Lakers and Heat to glory, Spoelstra became just one of 14 coaches in league history to win two titles.
His 725 career wins ranks 19th in NBA history and he’s fifth all-time with 109 playoff wins.
But Spoelstra is also $120 million richer and now holds a record-setting coaching contract because he kept working and working, and continued to prove his worth while others overlooked him.
He rose from a lowly video assistant to a two-time NBA Finals winner.
There’s a reason that The King proclaimed that Spoelstra is worth every cent of his $120 million extension.
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