Heat’s Spoelstra, Riley named among NBA’s top 15 coaches of all time. Spoelstra reacts
The Heat’s current coach and the one who spearheaded the franchise’s elevation to prominence were both named to the list of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history, the league announced Tuesday night.
Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley were named to the list, which was selected by a panel of 43 current and former head coaches in collaboration with the NBA Coaches Association.
“I always say Pat Riley set the standard, but coach Spo improved on it,” Heat legend Dwyane Wade said on TNT’s pre-game show on Tuesday night, after the list was unveiled.
Riley stands fifth on the NBA’s all-time victory list with 1210, behind Don Nelson (1335 wins), Lenny Wilkens, Gregg Popovich and Jerry Sloan.
Spoelstra - who is in his 14th season as the Heat’s coach - stands 24th all time with 642 wins, 12 behind Flip Saunders.
Riley won four championships with the Lakers and one with the Heat; those five titles are tied for third all time behind Phil Jackson (11) and Red Auerbach (9).
Spoelstra won two championships with the Heat, which is tied for seventh all time. Only Jackson, Auerbach, Riley, Popovich, John Kundla and Steve Kerr have won more NBA championships than Spoelstra.
In all-time NBA winning percentage, Riley is 14th at 63.6 and Spoelstra 31st at 59.1.
Riley was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy has repeatedly said that Spoelstra, too, will be in the Hall of Fame someday.
Riley left his job on the Heat’s bench to focus on running the team’s basketball operations after the 2007-08 season. Riley and owner Micky Arison promoted Spoelstra to succeed Riley.
Riley’s career included nine years coaching the Lakers, four years coaching the Knicks and 11 years coaching the Heat.
Spoelstra told Heat radio voice Jason Jackson on Wednesday that when he heard the news he was “uncomfortable. I’m pretty awkward and, you know, the essence of coaching is not a list. It’s about trying to bring value and be helpful. But it’s extremely humbling. And I’m just so grateful for the Arisons and for Pat, having the opportunity to work for the Heat all these years, it’s the honor and privilege of a lifetime.
“And Pat has totally changed the trajectory of my whole life and my career. It’s really been amazing to study under him. It’s just really been incredible. We talk about it all the time, coaching in this profession is extremely hard. And sometimes it’s brutalizing challenging. It really is a village effort. I also do want to give a shout out to Dwyane and UD. As a young coach, you do need people that are championing you. I was in the locker room and they gave me so much support and belief that a lot of times you don’t survive that, initially, as a young coach. And it breathed so much life into me, and were really helpful, especially early on. I’m forever grateful to them.”
Asked about Wade’s aforementioned comment about him, Spoelstra said: “You know, Dwyane has a way of getting this old coach emotional sometimes. My dad actually sent me the clip. I didn’t see it live. My parents were really excited about his sound byte. He’s somebody that’s very dear to me, in my heart. It’s just incredibly humbling, and to have the opportunity to coach guys like him and everybody over the years, really has been an honor.”
Also on the NBA’s 15 greatest coaches list: former Heat TV analyst Jack Ramsay, who died in 2014. He’s 14th on the NBA’s all time wins list with 864.
“Jack was my first coach,” Spoelstra said. “That was the first coach I followed, it’s been well documented, as a big Trail Blazer fan. And he was the image I had as a coach. And on the other sides of those battles was Pat, with the Lakers. Never thought I would get to know Pat, much less work for him and study under him for all these years. It really is a remarkable list. And I’m just grateful, again, for everybody with the Heat and this organization. They’ve seen me grown up from a 24-year-old kid and guided me through this crazy business.”
The other coaches on the 15-man list: Auerbach, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Red Holzman, Jackson, KC Jones, Kerr, Nelson, Popovich, Doc Rivers, Sloan and Wilkens.
Coaches who rank in the NBA’s top 25 in wins who didn’t make the top 15 include George Karl (sixth), Rick Adelman (ninth), Bill Fitch, who died last week (11th), Dick Motta (13th), Rick Carlisle (13th), Cotton Fitzsimmons (16th), Gene Shue (17th), Nate McMillan (18th), John MacLeod (19th), Mike D’Antoni (21st), Mike Fratello (22nd) and Saunders (23rd).
Daly is 25th on the all time wins list and Jones is 33rd. Jones is sixth in winning percentage and Daly 30th.
Also Tuesday night, the NBA announced participants in its All-Star weekend skills competitions, and no Heat players were selected.
Spoelstra (who will coach one of the teams) and his coaching staff and Jimmy Butler (an Eastern Conference All Star reserve) will be the Heat’s presence at the Feb. 20 All Star Game in Cleveland.
The NBA released the list as part of its celebration of the league’s 75th season.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 8:09 PM.
