“There are times when he and I clash. There is clash. There were a few times where we pissed each other off and argued on the sidelines. »
It is Bam Adebayo who speaks and his story is not unusual for a star in Miami under Erik Spoelstra. Tension is possible in a locker room and there are sometimes several schools in these hot moments.
Some coaches let the temperature drop on their own, avoiding contact, while others do not hesitate to go into conflict, to iron out differences. It’s more the Spoelstra method.
“He understands that to get to the other side, you have to go through fire. And the only way to do that, to give yourself a chance, is to put everything on the table,” explains David Fizdale, who was his assistant, for The Athletic. “It’s like in a marriage or a relationship: if you let things get worse, it gets worse afterwards. We might as well face them, because we give ourselves a chance to correct them, ” continues Ron Rothstein, also a former assistant to the Miami coach.
The proof with two concrete examples. In March 2022, in a meeting against the Warriors, in full time-out, Erik Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler exchange words in a tone far from cordial. “It was a Tuesday in training. We are like that,” laughs Udonis Haslem, who also heated up with the star a few moments before on the bench. “After that moment, we were able to talk to each other and move on. Everything was said. So I think it’s the best thing that happened to us last season.”even advances Caleb Martin.
“He does what is best for the interest of the team”
The second example is ten years before, with Dwyane Wade during the 2012 playoffs, in the conference semi-finals against Indiana. The back took a word from his coach badly and told him. The discussion between the two men is lively. She resumes a few days later – Wade having been to visit his university coach (Tom Crean) in the meantime – to put things right.
” I will never forget him. We didn’t discuss too much collectively, ” Fizdale recalls. “We did the video session before Game 4, Spoelstra looked at the guys and said that it was the playoffs, that there were clashes. Then he looked at Wade and said, ‘D, are we okay?’ Wade replied, ‘Yes, coach. And that was it. »
Very competitive, Spoelstra is not going “give in on important things” points out Fizdale. And thus, he can obtain the respect of his players, if not always having their love.
“If there is a disagreement, he resolves it”, summarizes Kelly Olynyk. “It’s hard not to like him because everyone respects him I think. He does what is best for the team. Sometimes the players don’t agree with his vision, but we respect him because he always tries to win. »
