Knicks decision to fire Thibodeau demonstrates Spoo s long-term coaching relationship with the Heat

Earlier, Miami Herald reporter Anthony Chiang wrote:

Whenever an NBA head coach is fired, this news will remind people of Miami Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra's unique coaching long-term feelings. Spoel did not take it for granted, often attributed to Heat president Pat Riley and boss Mickey Allison, whose trust allowed him to coach for so long.

When the New York Knicks announced the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau, it once again reminds people that Spoel is currently the current head coach with the same team in the NBA. Thibodeau was fired after he helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, before being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers when he was just one round away from the NBA Finals.

"You have to have a great boss and management stability," said Spoel when asked about his long-term coaching with the Heat in November. "We certainly got this with Pat (Riley) and the Arison family. It's unique. I'm very grateful for that because we were able to get through some tough losses and tough seasons together, and I think we've gotten stronger from it."

"That's the coaching industry The reality of the situation, how much changes are there every year. In the past two years alone, there have been basically half of the league (the team changed coaches). It is difficult. When the personnel flow is so large, it is difficult to operate and build any culture. "

Heat's head coach changes have not been much. In the team's 37 seasons history, there are only five different head coaches (Ron Rostein, Alvin Gentry, Riley, Stan Van Gundy and Spoel).

Spoel, 54, has just finished his 17th season as head coach of the Heat. He was initially hired as a video analyst by the Heat in 1995. With Popovich resigning as San Antonio Spurs head coach in May this year, Spoo has become the current head coach in the NBA with the longest coach on the same team.

In the 17 seasons under Spoel, the Heat have made it to the playoffs 14 times, including the past six consecutive seasons. While Spole was head coach, the Heat also won two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.

In addition, Spoul has been the head coach with the most wins in the regular season (787 wins) and the playoffs (110 wins). In NBA history, Spoelstra also ranked third in winning numbers as a single-team head coach, second only to Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Popovich of the Spurs.

Spoel is the second head coach in NBA history to coach more than 1,300 games on the same team, only Popovic has done it before.

"The Arison family and Pat Riley have created a culture that is unique in any professional sports team," Spoel said in November last year. "Only a few teams have this stability and continuity. But without that, I might have been fired in this position for two or three years and then wandered around, which is typical in this coaching industry." Spoel, recognized as one of the top NBA coaches, has swept nearly all coaching awards in the NBA general manager pre-season survey of the past three seasons. In the latest general manager survey before the start of the 2024-25 season, Spoel was named the NBA's best head coach (69% of the vote), the best staff management/motivator (37%) and the head coach with the best defensive tactics (23%). The Heat also firmly supported Spoel and signed a generous eight-year contract extension with him in January 2024. The contract will last until the 2031-32 season, when Spole will be at least 61 years old, and the 2031-32 season will also be his 24th season as Heat head coach.

"Coaching is a turbulent career, which is a shame because we have proven that you can go through tough years, but you can learn a lot from tough years and become stronger because of it," Spoel said. "But this situation (long-term coaching) is not common in the league. So, I'm really grateful to have this opportunity to work for (Rally) and continue to be coached by him."