Erik Spoelstra has reached an agreement to renew with the Miami Heat with the largest contract that a coach has ever signed in the NBA: $120 million for eight years. This agreement would place Spoelstra as the second highest paid coach in the league, at a rate of 15 million per season.
The first on the list will continue to be Gregg Popovich, of the San Antonio Spurs, with an annual salary of 19 million, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, one of the journalists with the best sources within the NBA, on the ESPN network.
A double NBA champion with the Heat, Spoelstra is an icon in Miami and represents the DNA of this team that has stood out in the last 15 years for a fierce competitive spirit in all circumstances.
Spoelstra took the reins of Miami in 2008 and won the ring twice (2012 and 2013) with the team led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. James has precisely been one of the players who has publicly congratulated his former coach: "You deserve every penny of that contract! Congratulations Spo!"
He also played in four other NBA finals, the last of which was last year and lost to Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets.
Especially meritorious was the playoff adventure of those 2023 Heat who, despite qualifying as eighth and via play-in, grew with Jimmy Butler as leader and knocked down Eastern giants like the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics until we reach the Finals.
Spoelstra has directed 1,231 regular season games in the NBA with a record of 725-506, which places him among the 20 coaches with the most wins in the history of the league. The Heat currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-15.
