LeBron James hails Erik Spoelstra after Miami Heat coach signs record eight-year $120m extension with NBA giants: ‘Worth every single cent!’
- Erik Spoelstra has signed an eight-year extension worth approximately $120 million
- This is his 16th season as head coach and his 29th season with the Heat
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
LeBron James paid tribute to Erik Spoelstra after the Miami Heat coach agreed to a record $120 million contract extension.
Spoelstra signed an eight-year contract – the largest contract in NBA history in terms of total value for a coach – to ensure the longest-serving boss in franchise history continues to add to his team’s record books for years to come.
Spoelstra’s current contract expires after this season and when news of the extension broke, former Heat star James posted on social media, “Worth every penny of that contract! Congratulations Spo!’
Under Spoelstra, James led the Heat to NBA titles in both 2012 and 2013.
Spoelstra is in his 16th season as head coach in Miami and his 29th season overall with the franchise.
Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat have agreed to a record $120 million contract extension
He started in the video room and eventually became a scout, assistant coach and then Pat Riley’s hand-picked successor as head coach in April 2008.
Spoelstra was 24 when he arrived in Miami. Now 53, he has three NBA championship rings, two of which are as Miami’s head coach. He has taken the Heat to the NBA Finals six times, including last season.
Spoelstra is the league’s second-longest current coach, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, who is in his 28th season as Spurs coach.
Spoelstra’s 725 regular-season wins rank 19th in NBA history, and only three coaches – Popovich with the Spurs, Jerry Sloan with Utah and Red Auerbach with Boston – have won more games with one franchise than Spoelstra has with the Heat.
Spoelstra is also an assistant coach for USA Basketball this Olympic cycle and will be part of head coach Steve Kerr’s staff during the Paris Games this summer.
With Spoelstra at the helm, James led the Miami Heat to NBA titles in both 2012 and 2013
Spoelstra will likely be among the top candidates to take over the Olympic team for the next cycle that will culminate in the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
During Spoelstra’s tenure in Miami, no coach in the league has recorded more postseason wins. He has 109 – 10 more than Kerr with Golden State.
The Heat valued stability: there have been only six coaches in the franchise’s 36 years.
“We’ve had incredible stability and consistency over the years,” Spoelstra said last fall, when asked how he stayed with the Heat for so long. “I’ve been fortunate to work for who I work for.”