Erik Spoelstra, a true icon of the NBA’s Miami Heat, has agreed a record-breaking $20 million, 8-year contract extension with the Florida-based team, making him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Miami Heat, has been offered the most salary ever given to a basketball coach. One of the most reputable sources on American basketball, American journalist Adrian Wojnarowski, estimated that the deal will cost $120 million over the course of eight years.
Although it’s the largest total in the history of international basketball, his colleague Gregg Popovich’s salary as the coach of the San Antonio Spurs in Texas is far higher annually.
The highest-paid coach in the NBA, the former coach of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili makes $19 million year, but unlike the current coach of the Miami Heat, he does not have a guaranteed income.
Two-time NBA champion Erik Spoelstra has been a part of the team since he began serving as an assistant coach in 1997. After taking over as head coach in 2008, he won his first championship in his first season, finishing 4-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, four years later. In the 2012–13 season, he accomplished the same feat again, defeating the Popovich–led San Antonio Spurs 4–3 in the seventh game.
These two championships as head coach supplemented the one he earned in the 2005–06 campaign, when he defeated the Dallas Mavericks (4–2) while serving as the famous Pat Riley’s assistant. Riley initially used him as a specialist video coach and then promoted him to top assistant status. With players like Dwyane Wade and multiple champion Shaquille O’Neal, the south coast team won its first championship that season.
Under Spoelstra, the Miami Heat have advanced to four finals in 15 years. The previous season, they made it to the Finals but fell short against the famous Serbian player, Nicola Jokic, of the Denver Nuggets. They not only advanced to the Finals but also defeated teams such as and with the lowest seed in the playoffs.
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