Just add Jerry West to the list of basketball figures who admire Erik Spoelstra’s coaching wizardry.
The all-time great has been wandering around the league for a very long time as a player and executive, but he admitted that he hasn’t seen someone yet who can parallel the wonders and structural backbone of the Miami Heat mentor.
“Erik Spoelstra – I’ve never seen a better coach than him,” West said. “I have not. And he’s just an unbelievable coach. He and Pat [Riley], I think they have a good working relationship there.”
Spoelstra has been the product of Pat Riley’s greatness and mentorship as a tactician. With hard work and perseverance from his humble beginnings, the Fil-Am coach ultimately blossomed into one of the most respected and admired minds of the game.
The 52-year-old coach managed the franchise’s dynastic times during the Heat era, working alongside LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in bringing back-to-back NBA championships to the city of Miami out of four Finals appearances from 2011 to 2014. And after plenty more years, he now enjoys an unbreakable partnership with All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler.
The last postseason has been a major testament to Spoelstra’s remarkable talent as an all-around strategist, guiding the gritty Heat team to an NBA Finals seat – a feat that hasn’t been done by an eight-seed since 1999.
Spoelstra, who holds a career coaching record of 704-409 (58.9% win rate), is already stapled as one of the proud proponents of Heat culture that helped and always helped undrafted and underachieving players to enjoy massive personal and team success which further makes West truly amazed.
“He can take players that are pretty good,” West further added on what’s astounding about Spoelstra’s coaching. “He always has a couple of good players – really good players – but they have a system there, and they believe in it. And watching him coach games, he lets things roll off his shoulder.”
