![]() After college, he spent two years playing professionally in Germany, before the Heat called with their offer to work at the lowest rung of the organization. Spoelstra - whose father, Jon Spoelstra, was an NBA executive with Portland, Denver and New Jersey - was a standout high school guard in Oregon, then played at the University of Portland, where he was the West Coast Conference’s freshman of the year. Elisburg has been there since the first season, along with broadcasters Eric Reid and José Pañeda, team ambassador (and former assistant coach and broadcaster) Tony Fiorentino, chief financial officer Sammy Schulman and vice president of marketing Jeff Craney. Micky Arison is managing general partner, son Nick Arison is CEO, Riley is president, Andy Elisburg is general manager, Adam Simon is assistant general manager. The names atop the staff directory have barely changed since 1995, and in some cases since the team's inception in 1988. Contracts for coaches and executives within the organization are hardly ever announced it's just assumed that everybody stays put year after year. But in Miami, that doesn't mean anything. ![]() Spoelstra's contract was ending after this season, which isn't a good sign in most places. Wade offered a similar sentiment: “Spo!!!!!!!!! Earned!” he wrote, with eight moneybag emojis in there as well. “Worth Every Single Cent of that contract!!!” James tweeted on Tuesday. He'll be an assistant on Steve Kerr's USA Basketball staff that will try to win Olympic gold in Paris this summer and is widely expected to be a top candidate when it's time for the Americans to pick a head coach for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Spoelstra is 19th all-time in regular-season victories (725 entering Wednesday) and fifth in playoff victories (109, not counting a play-in tournament game win last season as well). Only San Antonio and Boston have won more regular-season games than Miami since Spoelstra took over for Riley in 2008, and no team in that span has won more playoff games. And that’s why I feel a great responsibility to be a caretaker for this culture, now and moving forward." I grew up in the NBA business so I understand how unique that is. And we’ve had some tough times and tough years and that’s when we’ve really rallied around each other the most. We enjoy the process of trying to do special things. “There’s going to be ups and downs in this business. “In this business, you also just want to work with great people that are well-intentioned,” Spoelstra said Wednesday. Spoelstra guided Heat teams to the playoffs in 12 of his first 15 seasons as coach, getting to the NBA Finals six times - including last season - and winning championships in 20 with teams led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. We’ve tried to build a culture of family and a culture where we trust each other, where we’re sacrificing for each other and where we’re serving each other.” ![]() I probably would have been fired a few times with another organization. “Pat Riley is a legend in the game,” Spoelstra told those kids in Manila, speaking of his longtime boss and the Heat president. The latest reminder of all that came Tuesday with Miami signing Spoelstra to a history-making deal spanning eight years and worth roughly $120 million, the biggest contract in terms of total salary ever given to an NBA coach and one that illustrates how vital the Heat believe he is to the operation. Over the next few minutes, Spoelstra talked about friendships, loyalty and how fortunate he is that the Heat - the team he's been with for almost 30 years - value stability. One asked about his longevity with the Heat. A few dozen kids finished the workout, then got to ask him whatever they wanted. ![]() MIAMI - Erik Spoelstra was hosting a clinic in the Philippines, his mother's homeland, this past summer while the Miami Heat coach was there as an assistant with USA Basketball for the World Cup.
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