Coaching an NBA team can be a lucrative career. Sometimes, you don’t even need to have a good team to make a lot of money. Up until now, the two highest-paid coaches — Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs and Monty Williams of the Detroit Pistons — were coaching the two worst teams in the league.
And no, we’re not saying “until now” because those teams are suddenly improving. It’s just that another coach is about to get a huge pay raise.
The Miami Heat and Erik Spoelstra just agreed to a record-setting contract extension. The new deal is worth $120 million over eight years, which is the most money committed to any coach in the history of American sports.
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On an annual basis, Spoelstra, at $15 million, is still behind Popovich, who makes $19 million per year. But the total amount is more than any other coach.
The 53-year-old Spoelstra began his career as a video coordinator with the Heat. He rose up through the ranks and became an assistant coach for Pat Riley. When Riley stepped down in 2008, Spoelstra took over as head coach and has led the Heat bench ever since.
Under his watch, the Heat have reached the NBA Finals six times, including four straight years from 2011 to 2014. Those were the “Heatles” teams with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, which won the championship in 2012 and 2013.
More recently, the Heat made the NBA Finals in 2020, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games during the COVID-19 bubble-impacted season. Last year, the Heat went from the No. 8 seed to the finals before bowing out in five games against the Denver Nuggets.
Spoelstra is 19th on the all-time victories list among head coaches, and his 109 playoff victories are fifth all-time. Only Popovich has more among active coaches.
Over the past decade and a half, Spoelstra has become one of the most respected coaches across professional sports. He’s delivered plenty to the Heat — and they’ve rewarded him handsomely.
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