Erik Spoelstra will be staying in South Beach for a long time.
Spoelstra, head coach of the Miami Heat since 2008, reportedly agreed to an eight-year extension worth $120 million.
The money is the largest amount ever awarded to a coach in NBA history, surpassing Gregg Popovich’s deal worth more than $80 million he got last July.
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Head coach Erik Spoelstra watches the game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on November 20, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Popvich had surpassed Monty Williams’ $78.5 million from the previous month.
The extension comes months after the Heat were in the NBA Finals as an eighth seed, the second to do so. They also reached the Eastern Conference Finals the year before.
Spoelstra has been part of the organization’s coaching staff since 1997, serving as an assistant for 11 years. He started in the video room and eventually became a scout, assistant coach and then Pat Riley’s handpicked successor as head coach in April 2008.
He has led the Heat to the NBA Finals six times, including four consecutive trips from 2011 to 2014, winning them all twice (2012 and 2013).
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
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Spoelstra’s 725 regular-season wins rank 19th in NBA history, and only three coaches (Popovich with the Spurs, Jerry Sloan with Utah and Red Auerbach with Boston) have won more games with a franchise than Spoelstra with the Heat.
He is also an assistant coach for USA Basketball this Olympic cycle and will be part of head coach Steve Kerr’s staff at the Paris Games this summer. Spoelstra will likely be among the leading candidates to take over the Olympic team for the next cycle that will culminate in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Assistant coach Erik Spoelstra and Anthony Edwards #10 of the United States warm up before a FIBA World Cup 2023 exhibition match against Puerto Rico at T-Mobile Arena on August 7, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Spoelstra’s current contract expires after this season.
The Heat are currently 21-15, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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