Erik Spoelstra is expected to be named 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 ESPN 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.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr guided the 2024 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal, with Spoelstra serving as his lead assistant.
Spoelstra 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. 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 1390 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 June 2012 and June 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, receiving 52 percent 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 percent of the vote, topping Houston’s Ime Udoka, who received 24 percent 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 percent, 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 percent of the votes, trailing Daigneault and Udoka.