Spoelstra says don’t discredit what Heat did, challenges Jovic, dishes on others
Erik Spoelstra usually offers a glass-half-full perspective, and Thursday’s exit interview was no different for the Heat coach, even after a season that ended without a playoff berth for the first time in seven years.
Spoelstra offered a largely positive spin, praising several of the young players who made significant strides and noting the season could have been different if the Heat had won only four more games, while conceding a team ultimately is what its record says it is.
“I truly felt that there could have been four to six more wins on the table for us, and that did not happen,” he said. “And that also could have changed our context of how we felt about this team.
“We don’t like this feeling at all of being off in the middle of April. I also think that you can’t just discredit that or discard it and say, how horrible that is that we made the playoffs six straight years and didn’t win a championship. This is a hard business, and there aren’t a lot of teams that can do that every year.”
Here’s how Spoelstra sized up the team’s young players:
▪ On Kel’el Ware: “There was significant improvement. You saw his ability to compete in a meaningful game and produce in the moments of truth. There were a lot of ups and downs this year, but I appreciate his intention every day trying to work at it, get better. And he still has a big offseason ahead to make that next jump hopefully.”
▪ On Jaime Jaquez Jr., who led all NBA reserves in points:
“He had a great bounce-back year. He went to work last summer and then came back and had such an impactful season for us. He’s one of our most important players in terms of his ability to get into the paint and create things for us. I love the way he improved his passing as well.”
▪ On Pelle Larsson: “Pelle had a massive jump, just in terms of being the ultimate glue guy in any lineup. And you can see how his offensive improvement came with confidence and the work behind the scenes.”
▪ On rookie point guard Kasparas Jakucionis: “Kas surprised all of us. He’s been very mature for his years, but he’s a diligent worker, and he is the nicest guy off the court. And he is an animal on the court.
He’s not trying to make any friends in this league. That’s where he’s [Goran Dragic]-esque — the contrast of on the court between the lines and his personality off the court. I love that about him.”
▪ On Keshad Johnson: “I loved seeing him getting some minutes down the stretch because he’s really improved, and he is a Heat guy. He has that kind of DNA in his blood as a competitor. He improved dramatically.”
While there was growth in the five aforementioned players, this season was undoubtedly a step back for Nikola Jovic, whose 26.9% accuracy on three-pointers was seventh worst among all NBA players.
“As frustrated as he seemed this year and he felt like he just had a string of bad luck, that’s exactly what was happening for Jaime last year,” Spoelstra said, suggesting Jovic could follow that approach.
“... Jaime, to his credit, did not make an excuse for anything. He just took it all on his shoulders and he just said, ‘I need to be better…’ It was his intention just to go in and not blame anything, just get to work. And that Niko’s objective this offseason, to not have a victim mind-set about it, to not blame anything. Get to work and improve the things that he needs to improve. He’ll be fine.
“The skill set and the size and all the things that he brings to the table, that’s not lost on any of us. He just needs to get out there, take the responsibility, be ready for camp next year and be ready to reach the potential he has.”
Jovic told the Miami Herald last month that the Heat’s new up-tempo style has hurt his game, but that it’s his responsibility to make it work.
This and that
▪ Spoelstra staggered the minutes of Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins late in the season, and he conceded that playing them in tandem “ended up becoming a challenge at the very end” because “when one was dealing with an injury, the other one was in the mix and playing well, and then it would just flip-flop and flip-flop a few times.”
▪ Forward Simone Fontecchio, an impending unrestricted free agent, said he would like to return.
▪ Postseason interviews are voluntary, and only two players — Wiggins and Herro — declined to speak to reporters.
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 4:07 PM.
