You’ve likely heard the Erik Spoelstra story: he started in a windowless Miami Heat video room and worked so hard he eventually became head coach. He was the first Asian American coach in any of the four major US sports. He won back-to-back rings with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and made two finals appearances without superstars. He’s elite, officially one of the 15 all time greatest coaches in NBA History.
But hang on, let’s go back to that “back-to-back rings with superstars” bit because that wasn’t always a feather in his cap. I mean, I’m sure he liked it, but coaching superstars can put you in a tight spot. You’re either incompetent, or lucky.
But hang on, let’s go back to that “back-to-back rings with superstars” bit because that wasn’t always a feather in his cap. I mean, I’m sure he liked it, but coaching superstars can put you in a tight spot. You’re either incompetent, or lucky.
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00:00 You've likely heard the Erics Bollstra story.
00:03 He started in a windowless Miami Heat video room
00:07 and worked so hard he eventually became head coach.
00:10 He was the first Asian American coach
00:11 in any of the four major US sports.
00:14 He won back-to-back rings with superstars
00:16 and made two final appearances without superstars.
00:20 He took an eighth seed to the finals.
00:22 He's elite, officially one of the 15 all-time
00:25 greatest coaches in NBA history.
00:28 But hang on, let's back up to that
00:32 back-to-back rings with superstars bit
00:35 because that wasn't always a feather in his cap.
00:38 I mean, I'm sure he liked it,
00:40 but coaching superstars can put you in a tight spot.
00:44 You're either incompetent or lucky,
00:48 or in Erics Bollstra's case, both.
00:56 When Erics Bollstra became the Heat head coach
00:58 in April 2008, nobody really knew him.
01:01 Maybe people had glimpsed him on the sideline
01:03 as an assistant coach, maybe.
01:06 But Bollstra still had an instant identity
01:08 upon his appointment, Pat Riley's guy.
01:12 Pat Riley is beloved in Miami.
01:14 He brought him a title in '06.
01:16 But after an injury-dictated, dismal '08 run,
01:19 Riley decided it was time to step back
01:21 and just be president of the Heat.
01:23 He handpicked his successor,
01:25 expressing complete faith
01:26 in the heretofore unknown assistant coach.
01:29 There was some gentle skepticism towards Bollstra.
01:33 He was young, he never played in the NBA,
01:35 could he really be an authority figure?
01:37 But this was by no means an indictment
01:39 or a "we don't want him" type reaction.
01:42 The overall reception was open and positive.
01:45 I mean, the Heat won 15 games the previous season,
01:48 the stakes were low.
01:49 So sure, see what the new guy can do.
01:51 Heat star Dwayne Wade liked him.
01:54 And it certainly didn't hurt
01:55 that he was endorsed by Pat Riley.
01:58 It's gotta be pretty good if Miami's favorite coach
02:00 and person liked him.
02:02 Plus, Riley's still president, he can help Bollstra.
02:06 Or call all the shots from behind the scenes.
02:09 Or step in and take over,
02:11 like he did in the '05-'06 season
02:13 after Stan Van Gundy wasn't getting the job done.
02:16 And that year ended with a championship, just saying.
02:21 So Bollstra was accepted.
02:24 But being Riley's guy had a downside too.
02:27 After a year at the helm,
02:28 articles reviewing Bollstra's performance
02:30 were titled "Bollstra, Riley's Choice."
02:34 His own name was secondary to the fact that Riley chose him.
02:38 After a year, in which he got Miami back to the playoffs.
02:42 It's like the media was grading Riley's ability
02:45 to choose a replacement
02:46 more than considering Bollstra an individual.
02:49 But hey, consensus was Riley made a fine choice.
02:53 Not perfect, but fine.
02:55 The following season, he won a few more games,
02:58 made the postseason again.
02:59 Sure, they had another first round to exit,
03:02 but they're moving in the right direction.
03:04 Bollstra's just fine.
03:06 And, added bonus, after two seasons of acceptable coaching,
03:09 Bollstra was starting to poke his head out
03:11 from under the Riley's Choice label.
03:14 The Florida Press highlighted and praised his penchant
03:16 for pithy locker room phrases that set a tone,
03:19 unified, and motivated the team.
03:22 Maybe this Bollstra guy was just who Miami needed.
03:25 Oh, wait, shut the fuck up.
03:27 What's all this?
03:28 In the summer of 2010,
03:30 Miami became the top contender for a championship,
03:33 or several championships.
03:35 Overnight, everything changed,
03:37 including opinions on Bollstra.
03:40 Actually, the coach isn't fine.
03:42 He's a pale copy of Riley, who tries too hard to be Riley.
03:46 And actually, we hate his pretentious little pithy phrases.
03:49 Who does he think he is?
03:50 Pat Riley?
03:52 This is a serious team now,
03:53 and Bollstra is too inexperienced.
03:56 He'll kowtow to the big three.
03:58 And let's not forget,
04:00 we have a legendary coach waiting in the wings.
04:02 Spoh, get out of his way.
04:05 But while fans and the media turned on him internally,
04:08 Bollstra had support.
04:10 Riley was clear he wasn't going to coach again,
04:12 and he firmly believed his protege was up for the task
04:15 of leading superstars to glory.
04:18 LeBron wanted Bollstra.
04:20 And Wade, who had been playing for Bollstra for two years,
04:23 unequivocally backed him.
04:25 Spoh wasn't going anywhere.
04:27 One thing the media and the Heat organization
04:30 could agree on, Bollstra was in a tough spot.
04:34 Anything less than an instant title was unacceptable.
04:38 And perhaps thanks to a certain high-profile player's
04:41 high-profile predictions.
04:43 - Not two, not three, not four, not five,
04:48 not six, not seven.
04:50 - Anything less than an instant dynasty was unacceptable.
04:54 There were two outcomes for Spoh, neither of them great.
04:58 Fail to win, be considered incompetent.
05:01 Win, be considered lucky.
05:03 Let's meet Eric Spolstra, the incompetent.
05:07 When the star-studded Heat began the season,
05:10 a mediocre five and four,
05:12 the Spolstra criticism poured in.
05:15 Charles Barkley had a stopwatch counting down
05:17 the seconds till Pat Riley took over.
05:20 Fans started a website entitled firespoh.com.
05:24 By Thanksgiving, there were nearly 9,000 votes
05:26 for the coach's ousting.
05:28 And it kind of seemed like his critics,
05:30 while aggressive, had some legs to stand on.
05:34 Spolstra took a while to land on a rotation.
05:37 Then, on November 27th, with the team fighting
05:40 to stay above 500, basically incapable of beating teams
05:44 with winning records, this happened.
05:47 Did LeBron James just bump his coach
05:50 on live TV on purpose?
05:53 The clip was analyzed under a powerful microscope,
05:56 and I think we can say exaggerated a bit.
05:59 His jacket didn't nearly come off.
06:02 But I guess reporters could write like this
06:04 because it was a conceivable situation.
06:08 It was believable that LeBron would be upset enough
06:11 to bump his coach really hard during a game.
06:14 LeBron and Spoh both said they didn't even notice it.
06:18 It certainly wasn't on purpose.
06:20 But intentional or not, the media concluded
06:23 the bump spoke volumes.
06:25 It was a symbol of the frustration in Miami.
06:28 It was evidence of obliviousness,
06:30 of a lack of relationship between Spoh and his players.
06:34 Now, two days later, an article broke
06:36 in which unnamed sources revealed Spoh and his players
06:39 did have a relationship, just a terrible one.
06:44 Players were sick of his simplistic offense,
06:47 tired of him being hard on them and nitpicking
06:49 because he clearly feared for his job.
06:52 One source said even Spoh's greatest champion,
06:55 Pat Riley, had started to express some doubts.
06:58 At the Heat's first media session after the story broke,
07:02 nobody came to the coach's defense.
07:04 LeBron did say, "I have Coach Spoh's back,"
07:07 or whatever the case may be, "This is who we have."
07:12 Damning.
07:13 Might as well have said, "This is who we have for now."
07:17 Dwayne Wade, who just months ago said
07:19 he 100% supported the coach, severed that tie.
07:23 Wade was having a difficult early season,
07:26 coming off a hamstring injury,
07:28 and that likely was a big reason the Heat weren't winning.
07:31 And sure, that's not Spolstra's fault,
07:34 but it also wasn't not his fault, you know?
07:39 There was little sympathy for Spolstra, the incompetent.
07:42 The media made fun of him.
07:44 There was a sort of glee in the idea
07:46 that he was probably getting fired.
07:49 The joke here being Spolstra has to beg LeBron
07:51 to stay employed.
07:53 The joke here, the young single Spolstra
07:56 will soon announce he's stepping away
07:58 to spend more time with his family.
08:00 I think these jokes are actually funnier
08:01 when I explain them.
08:02 But hey, look at that.
08:04 Spolstra wasn't fired.
08:05 The Heat managed to get it together,
08:07 and they made the finals after all.
08:10 All right.
08:11 Unfortunately, there wasn't much time
08:12 for anyone to give Spolstra much credit for the turnaround
08:15 because the Heat lost the finals in humiliating fashion.
08:20 In elimination game six,
08:21 they were completely flummoxed by a simple zone defense,
08:25 and it was all Eric Spolstra's fault.
08:27 Everyone expected and wanted Pat Riley to step in
08:32 and shove Spolstra aside with more force than LeBron's bump.
08:37 But it wasn't happening.
08:39 Riley showed his support for his mentee
08:41 in the most tangible way possible, a new contract.
08:44 So Spolstra was safe for a very short amount of time.
08:48 A year later, the young coach was again
08:50 on the chopping block with his neck outstretched.
08:53 In the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals,
08:55 the Heat went up on the Celtics two games to none.
08:58 That sounds nice.
09:00 But then they lost three games in a row
09:02 and faced elimination.
09:04 That sounds less nice,
09:06 especially when you hear what people were saying
09:08 about Eric Spolstra.
09:09 He's in over his head, he has no authority,
09:12 he couldn't organize a team meal,
09:14 and what the hell, shouldn't it be easy to sit back
09:17 and ride elite coattails to glory?
09:20 Let's check in on Firespo.com.
09:22 Over 35,000 votes to dump him.
09:26 Respected journalists predicted Spol's time was likely up,
09:30 and Spol probably knew it.
09:31 But hey, the Heat managed to hang on,
09:35 make it to the finals, and then win them.
09:38 All right, way to go, everybody's happy.
09:41 And now it's time to meet Eric Spolstra, the lucky.
09:44 Okay, so Spolstra did get some credit
09:48 after winning his first ring.
09:49 He wasn't immediately called lucky.
09:51 Then the following year was incredible.
09:55 Spolstra became the eighth coach in the history of the NBA
10:00 to win back-to-back titles.
10:02 And sure, he had some detractors,
10:04 but he also got some acknowledgement and even praise.
10:08 But in the years that followed, that credit was rescinded.
10:12 In 2014, he lost in the finals.
10:14 Okay, unfortunate.
10:16 Then LeBron left, and the Heat were really bad.
10:21 So bad that Spol's back-to-back titles didn't mean shit.
10:26 Any coach would have success with that lineup.
10:28 Spolstra was just the lucky guy
10:30 in a suit on LeBron's bench.
10:33 The lucky stigma was even retroactively applied
10:35 to his first few years in Miami
10:37 before they became a super team,
10:39 when Spol was reportedly fine.
10:42 In the seasons that followed,
10:43 Bosh got sick, Wade aged,
10:45 and the Heat were mediocre at best,
10:48 confirming the sentiment
10:50 that Spolstra didn't earn his rings.
10:52 Without a superstar, he wasn't sniffing the finals.
10:56 But hold on, how good of a coach would he have to be
10:59 to reach the finals without a superstar?
11:02 Ah, here's the Eric Spolstra we recognize.
11:07 Eric Spolstra, the elite.
11:09 In 2020, the Heat returned to the finals
11:12 with two All-Stars, but no superstars,
11:15 and a young supporting cast.
11:17 And that group took LeBron and the Lakers to six games.
11:21 Suddenly, it was cool to respect Eric Spolstra.
11:25 And actually, he might be one of the best coaches out there.
11:29 Two years later, yeah, he's officially
11:32 one of the best coaches in the NBA ever.
11:35 Past players spoke glowingly of Spolstra,
11:38 including the Big Three,
11:40 doing their part to legitimize Spolstra's role
11:42 in the 12 and 13 titles,
11:44 and making no mention of any tension
11:46 or backstabbing or crappy starts.
11:49 In 2023, the Heat made it back to the finals
11:52 with a single All-Star, nine undrafted players,
11:55 and here's the big part, they were the eighth seed.
11:59 So, okay, that'll do it.
12:02 That'll take him out of Riley's shadow.
12:04 That'll make us forget Firespo.com
12:06 and the years of undercutting him.
12:08 That'll make us supplant any previous version
12:11 of Eric Spolstra with the lasting one.
12:14 (upbeat music)
12:16 (electronic music)
12:19 [MUSIC]