Erik Spoelstra will be living out his dream of being the head coach of the USA men’s national basketball team, as he takes over the reins from Steve Kerr until the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
But it was a long and grueling journey for the Filipino-American tactician before he was able to reach the pinnacle of his coaching career — 30 years in the making, actually.
[READ: Erik Spoelstra in disbelief after USA Basketball appointment as head coach—‘It’s a dream’]
As he takes on a new chapter, One Sports takes a look back all the stops in his coaching journey.
1995: Video Coordinator, Miami Heat
Coach Spoelstra’s entry into his NBA career was anything but glamorous.
Spoelstra went undrafted in the NBA after he graduated college in 1992, and was already continuing his basketball career in Germany when he got a phone call that would eventually change the course of his life.
Being the son of a former NBA executive, Spoelstra’s father had enough connections in the league to push him into the world of the NBA; but only until the video room. He started as a video coordinator for the Miami Heat in an intern position.
He would spend some two years in the backend before he would make his first significant stride in the organization.
1997: Assistant coach, Miami Heat
After grinding in the background for the Heat organization, then-Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley was able to see Spoelstra’s potential early on.
Just two years into his foray into Miami, Riley hedged his bets on Spoelstra and made him an assistant coach — a position which he would hold for more than a decade.
Before he celebrated his 10th year in the position, Spoelstra won his first championship ring — serving as Riley’s deputy in the 2006 season when Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning, and Shaquielle O’Neal powered the Heat to the Larry O’Brien trophy, the franchise’s first.
During that time, he was joined by fellow assistant coaches Keith Askins, Bob McAdoo, Ron Rothstein, and Bill Foran.
2008: Head coach, Miami Heat
As it stands, Spoelstra is the longest active tenured head coach in the NBA after San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich was forced to retire earlier this year following issues with his health.
His journey started out in 2008 where he took the reins from Riley.
But it wasn’t an easy journey at all, with the first-time head coach only really breaking through when LeBron James took his talents to Florida in the 2010s.
In 2011, Spoelstra was unable to stir Miami to the victory despite being in the NBA Finals with the “Big Three” of James, Wade, and Chris Bosh, losing against the Dallas Mavericks who were then-led by legend Dirk Nowitzki.
But in the two subsequent years, Spoelstra was able to fully unleash his potential, going back-to-back champions in 2012 and 2013 with James, Wade, and Bosh. They defeated the OKC Thunder and the Spurs in those two seasons.
He has since went on to the finals twice but falling short, in 2014 against the Spurs, and in 2020 during the bubble season in a poetic twist against James’ new team — the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thanks to his work with Miami, USA Basketball was finally able to ping him on their radar.
2021: Head coach, Team USA Select Team
Though he was already deep into the late stages of his NBA coaching career, Spoelstra didn’t get his big break with USA Basketball until after the pandemic.
In their preparation for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Team USA tapped Spoelstra to coach the Team USA select team, which trained alongside the national squad before they went into action for the Summer Games.
That year, Team USA won the gold medal behind MVP Kevin Durant.
2023: Assistant coach, Team USA
By 2023, Spoelstra was formally added to the coaching staff of the men’s national team.
Just like in his journey with the Miami Heat, he started out as an assistant under Kerr for two upcoming competitions: the FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Coincidentally, Spoelstra had a homecoming to Manila during the World Cup in 2023. However, the Americans struggled in that tournament — finishing outside of the podium after a narrow loss to Team Canada in the Battle for Bronze.
But redemption came in 2024 in France.
There, Team USA won the gold medal behind a star-studded squad led by James, Durant, and Stephen Curry, making Spoelstra an Olympic gold medalist as an assistant.
2025: Head coach, Team USA
All has come full circle for Spoelstra — a full thirty years since beginning his career in the Miami Heat.
As the new head coach of the men’s basketball team, Spoelstra will have big expectations in the coming years.
In 2027, Spoelstra and Team USA will attempt to redeem themselves in the FIBA World Cup in Qatar, and in 2028, they will defend their gold medal. The latter brings more pressure as they will be on home court in the US.
But Spoelstra’s first test will come much earlier, as they battle Nicaragua in their first two matches of the World Cup qualifiers in late November and early December.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.