Heat’s Spoelstra expected to coach U.S. Olympic team. And GMs name him top coach
Erik Spoelstra is expected to be named the U.S. men’s basketball team’s coach in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the latest achievement in a decorated career that has included two NBA championships and six NBA Finals appearances.
Spoelstra’s expected appointment to the prestigious position was first reported by the Associated Press on Thursday and confirmed by a league source, who added that the agreement has not yet been finalized but could be in a week or so. Spoelstra will be the first Heat coach to coach an Olympic team.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr guided the 2024 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal at the Paris Games, with Spoelstra serving as his lead assistant.
Spoelstra, 54, also is expected to coach Team USA in the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
Spoelstra, who is entering his 18th season as the Heat’s coach, has a 787-572 career record. The 787 wins are 17th all time. If the Heat wins 46 games this season, he would pass Cotton Fitzsimmons for 16th on the list.
Former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who retired this past offseason, is first all time with 1,390 wins, a record that could be within Spoelstra’s reach.
The U.S. men’s team has won the past five Olympic gold medals. Spoelstra told The Associated Press after the gold-medal game in Paris that he “would be honored” if USA Basketball asked him to take over the program.
After playing two years professionally in Germany, Spoelstra famously began his Heat career working as the Heat’s video coordinator, as a 24-year-old. Pat Riley left the Knicks to become the Heat’s coach about a month later, in 1995, and Spoelstra was promoted to assistant coach/advance scout in 1999.
Spoelstra was named Heat coach in 2008, after Riley stepped down from the position. He guided the Heat to championships in 2012 and 2013, and led the team to four other Finals, the most recent in June 2023, when the Heat lost to the Denver Nuggets.
NBA.com released its annual survey of general managers on Thursday, and Spoelstra was voted the top coach for the sixth consecutive year, receiving 52% of the votes. Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault was second at 34 percent.
GMs also voted Spoelstra first when asked which coach is the best manager and motivator of people. He received 28% of the vote, topping Houston’s Ime Udoka, who received 24% of the vote.
He tied Indiana’s Rick Carlisle for third in the category of which coach makes the best in-game adjustments at 13%, trailing the Clippers’ Tyronn Lue and Daigneault.
And GMs voted Spoelstra third in the category of which coach runs the NBA’s best defensive schemes. He received 13% of the votes, trailing Daigneault and Udoka.
More poll results
The NBA.com poll posed 49 questions to general managers, and aside from Spoelstra, the Heat was barely mentioned:
▪ Kasparas Jakucionis, who was drafted 20th, was first in the category of “which rookie was the biggest steal in where he was selected in the draft.”
The Heat rookie received 17% of the vote. The players picked fifth (Utah’s Ace Bailey) and 14th (the Spurs’ Carter Bryant) tied for second at 10%.
▪ Norman Powell received a vote in the “most underrated player acquisition” category but did not place in the top eight. The top three finishers: Orlando’s Desmond Bane, Denver’s Cam Johnson and Atlanta’s Kristaps Porzingis.
▪ In a surprise, Bam Adebayo didn’t receive a single vote in any of the defensive categories, which included best defender in the NBA, best perimeter defender, best interior defender and most versatile defender.
▪ The Heat’s Chris Quinn and Boston’s Sam Cassell finished tied for fourth when GMs were asked the best assistant coach in the NBA. Each received 7% of the vote, trailing Minnesota’s Micah Nori, the Clippers’ Jeff Van Gundy and Houston’s Royal Ivey.
▪ The Heat received no votes in many categories, including the most improved team and the best defensive team.
When GMs were asked to rank the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, Miami didn’t finish in the top eight.
Cleveland, New York, Orlando, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Boston were the top eight, in that order. The poll awarded four points for first place votes, three for second place votes, two for third place votes and one for fourth place votes.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
