An unknown player and former video coordinator. 스포츠토토 This is the resume of Eric Spoelstra, who is currently considered one of the best coaches in the NBA. Spoelstra became the first Asian-American head coach in the NBA. Let’s pay attention to Spoelstra, who has been coaching for over 15 years in Miami and is recognized for his value in the NBA.
*This article was published in the June issue of Rookie.
Born to an American father and a Filipino mother, from an unknown player to the first Asian-American NBA coach,
Spoelstra graduated from a Jesuit high school in Oregon and attended the University of Portland. He was a great hard worker. In high school, the coach gave players a mission to shoot 30,000 shots over the summer, and Spoelstra was the only one on the team to achieve it. He kept a shooting log every day and steadily built up the numbers.
However, despite his constant efforts, Spoelstra could not leave a clear mark as a player. As a starting point guard during his four years in college, he averaged 9.2 points and 4.4 assists. Spoelstra, who is 188cm and belongs to the short guard, could not enter the NBA stage.
After graduating from college, Spoelstra, who was working in a warehouse for sports apparel company Nike, was offered a player and coach position by German second division team Tous Herten and left. While playing in Germany, he also took on the role of teaching young players in the region. However, he had to retire from playing after two years due to a back injury.
Two years later, Toos Herten offered him a new contract. However, another challenge awaited him from Spoel Stra. That’s when he offered the position of video coordinator at the Miami Heat. Spoelstra recalled this moment as “the most difficult decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
After much consideration, Spoelstra’s decision was to go to Miami. In a way, it was like heading on the ground. When he made the decision, Spoelstra was just a basketball-loving young man, and he knew very little about the job as a video coordinator. He continued to apply for college coaching positions, but also had a history of being rejected.
Although he was inexperienced, Spoelstra showed great enthusiasm to do the job assigned to him by his team. He later reflected, “I just wanted to do as much as possible on the team, whether it had anything to do with basketball or not. I wanted to be the person the club said about me, ‘He’ll make it.'”
After working as a video coordinator for two years, Spoelstra took a full-fledged leadership course in 1997 as an assistant coach at Miami. In 1999, he doubled as the club’s advance scout. As an assistant to manager Pat Riley, he gave the manager a different perspective on game planning and scouting than most coaches do.
Speaking of coach Spoelstra, Riley said, “Whether it’s a player or an opponent, he’s out of the ordinary as a scout or coach. What many coaches say to their manager is different from what he says.” there was,” he said.
Instead of taking on the role of coach right away, going through various stages of experience, starting with video coordinator and scout, had a very positive impact on Spoelstra’s success later on. Riley said, “Sometimes in preparation for the managerial role, I think that being a video coordinator and scout is better than being a simple assistant coach. A manager has to see and feel a lot of things, and Spoelst has a lot of basketball knowledge.” talked
Colleagues who worked with Spoelstra also cited his strong work ethic as the driving force behind his continued success as a coach. He was not a star, but he was more passionate about basketball than anyone else and showed an attitude to learn. During his coaching days, he was praised for helping to improve the shooting power of Dwyane Wade, the best star on the team and the league’s representative young gun.
In 2008, the opportunity of a lifetime came to Spoelstra, who was building his career step by step. At that time, Miami suffered from a series of injuries and aging of key players after winning the championship, and only won 15 wins in the 2007-2008 season. In the end, longtime manager Pat Riley, who led Miami, decided to step down as head coach and focus more on his job as president.
Pat Riley’s chosen successor was his right-hand man, Spoelstra. So Spoelstra became the first Asian-American NBA coach. It was the first time in the four major American sports, not just the NBA. When he was appointed as a manager in his early 40s, he had coach Ron Rodstein, who was the first manager of Miami (1988-1991) and had a 28-year age difference.
The glory days and beyond
Spoelstra, who took over as manager, quickly took matters into his own hands. Miami, where Wade, the top star on the team from the previous season, only played 51 games and won only 15. Wade, who attended the Beijing Olympics, succeeded in a splendid revival, and there were also contributions from several players who supported the top-class ace. Rookie Michael Beasley, who was nominated as the second pick, also played an active role between starting and starting positions.
Spoelstra took the team color with a quick basketball style and stepped on the playoff stage. However, as he stayed in the first round for two consecutive seasons, his limitations were clearly revealed. Miami’s composition of players was a roster with many shortcomings to challenge for the championship.
Accordingly, the Miami front made a decision. Free agent LeBron James, who heated up the NBA, said in an interview that he would “take my talent to South Beach,” and Chris Bosh also joined Miami. A young and powerful Big 3 leading to Lebron-Wade-Bosch was formed.
Meeting the best superstar and the best roster is a once-in-a-lifetime luck as a manager. However, the burden of his grades naturally follows. The Miami Big 3, where expectations were unconditional victory. It was only natural that such a team would be led by Spoelstra, who had finished his second year as manager and had not even reached the conference finals.
Concerns seemed to emerge as the season progressed. If 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, all super teams would have run on the road to success without incident, but sometimes 1 + 1 becomes 0.5. Miami, which raised its anchor ambitiously with the Big 3, suffered sluggishness with only 9 wins and 8 losses in the first 17 games of the 2010-2011 season.
Of course, there were opinions that coach Spoelstra should be sacked. Most of the opinions were that he, as a rookie coach, could not dominate the team. The scene where Lebron collided with Spoelstra on the shoulder as he entered the locker room became a hot topic, and there was also a story that only the players had a long meeting excluding the manager. In any case, the situation was the worst.
Fortunately, he succeeded in rebounding by winning against Lebron’s former team, Cleveland. President Riley also gave strength to Spoelstra, saying that there was no replacement of the manager. After 9 wins and 8 losses, they harvested 21 wins in 22 games played, and advanced to the playoffs as the 2nd seed. It was also Miami’s share to advance to the finals.
But the final result was shocking. Miami, which was expected to have an advantage in terms of power, fell to its knees in Dallas, where Dirk Nowitzki burned the flames. At the same time, the Spoelstra marginal theory surfaced again. The rumor of Riley’s return came to mind, but Riley again showed his faith in Spoelstra. Not only that, but in December 2011 he was awarded a lucrative contract extension by Spoelstra.
Miami Big 3 did not fail twice in a row. Miami strengthened its power by strengthening its positions that were lacking in the offseason, and Spoelstra, who received a gift from the club, led the team even more strongly based on the experience of the previous season. As a result, Miami, which secured the second seed this time, succeeded in advancing to the finals for the second year in a row.
Spoelstra, who welcomed the finals again, showed growth. After losing the first game against Oklahoma City led by Kevin Durant, they changed their tactics by operating a small lineup with Chris Bosh as the center from the second game. Spoelstra, who showed a flexible response depending on the situation, won a complete victory in the battle of strategy at the command tower and eventually won the final trophy. It was a winning legend achieved as a coach by an unknown player who had never been near the NBA.
Miami, where the Big 3 were still strong, was strong the following year, and advanced to the finals for the third year in a row after a run of 27 wins in the regular season. The opponent is San Antonio, led by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The clash with the best captain, Greg Popovich, was a huge challenge for Spoelstra.
The 2013 Finals was one of the best matches in NBA history. Miami, which had been driven to the brink of defeat, revived with Ray Allen’s tying 3-pointer at the end of the 6th game, and in the 7th game, backup Shane Bettier performed a surprise show by hitting 6 3-pointers, completing Miami’s come-from-behind victory. Spoelstra became the eighth NBA coach to win back-to-back titles.
Spoelstra promised long-term companionship with Miami along with achievements. However, the three-fit road was not easy. San Antonio, who had pledged revenge, unilaterally pushed Miami in the 2014 Finals, where Miami ended its dream of winning for the third year in a row by losing 1-4.
The three-fit failure meant the dissolution of the Big 3 soon. LeBron, who went to the free agent market, chose to return to Cleveland instead of staying in Miami, and the Big 3 disbanded after 4 seasons. Fortunately, Bosch remained on the team, but Miami, with LeBron’s departure, was far from being the number one candidate for the championship.