The nod to the story is quite nice as the NBA has set up shop in Paris for the NBA Paris Game which will be played this Thursday between Cleveland and Brooklyn. It is in fact in the French capital that the NBA adventure began for Eric Spoelstra, during a pre-season match played at Bercy on October 9, 2008 for one of his first matches on the Heat bench. It was against the Nets of Vince Carter and Brook Lopez. Who could have imagined at that time that the “Spo” would then have such a career within the Florida franchise?
More than fifteen years and two NBA championship titles later, Erik Spoelstra is more than ever the strong man of the Heat behind Pat Riley. After taking his team to the NBA finals against all odds last season, Miami decided to reward him by signing him to an XXL extension.
Biggest salary for Gregg Popovich, biggest contract for Erik Spoelstra
This was recorded last night according to ESPNand it is an event since it is the largest contract signed by a coach in the history of American sport with an eight-year, $120 million extension !
However, he remains the second highest paid coach in the NBA behind Gregg Popovich and his $19 million per year. He is also behind Pop' as the coach most loyal to a single franchise, he who only knew Miami in his career as assistant and then head coach. Finally, in terms of victories, he is the third coach (704 victories) behind Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle among active coaches.
His story with the Heat really began in 1995 when he joined the franchise as video coordinator. Gradually, he climbed the ranks, eventually joining Pat Riley's staff and finally replacing him in 2008. He then had to manage the “Three Amigos” and the pressure that accompanied the Wade-James-Bosh trio. and allowed him to do the double in 2012 and 2013.
Even after the end of this great epic, the 53-year-old technician remained the guarantor of the DNA of the franchise, which has become a reference for its work ethic. He too became one for his ability to get the best out of his groups. Despite the pitfalls, he also stood out for his extraordinary strength of character, and the journey of his players during the last playoffs is perhaps the best witness to this. This season again, the Heat is there. Enough to push Pat Riley and the Florida leaders to grant him this record extension…
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Tyler Herro | 18 | 34.1 | 44.2 | 42.0 | 88.7 | 0.6 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 22.7 |
| Bam Adebayo | 26 | 34.3 | 51.1 | 14.3 | 77.4 | 2.1 | 8.2 | 10.3 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 22.0 |
| Jimmy Butler | 24 | 33.6 | 46.4 | 37.7 | 88.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 21.0 |
| Duncan Robinson | 34 | 29.1 | 46.2 | 42.2 | 86.0 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 14.2 |
| Jaime Jaquez, Jr. | 36 | 30.4 | 50.7 | 34.9 | 84.7 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 13.7 |
| Caleb Martin | 20 | 26.5 | 44.3 | 37.9 | 67.6 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 11.0 |
| Kevin Love | 29 | 19.2 | 45.4 | 35.7 | 77.3 | 1.1 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 10.2 |
| Josh Richardson | 27 | 27.6 | 43.9 | 33.6 | 92.9 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 10.1 |
| Kyle Lowry | 32 | 28.4 | 46.2 | 43.4 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 9.2 |
| Haywood Highsmith | 22 | 20.9 | 41.1 | 32.9 | 77.8 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 5.9 |
| Nikola Jovic | 10 | 15.4 | 45.5 | 44.0 | 53.8 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 5.8 |
| Jamal Cain | 14 | 14.9 | 43.9 | 32.0 | 73.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| Orlando Robinson | 15 | 14.3 | 52.5 | 58.3 | 68.8 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 5.3 |
| Thomas Bryant | 20 | 11.4 | 55.6 | 0.0 | 85.0 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 4.9 |
| Dru Smith | 9 | 14.5 | 45.5 | 41.2 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| Cole Swider | 7 | 5.0 | 47.1 | 38.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| Rj Hampton | 8 | 9.5 | 28.6 | 12.5 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
