The Miami Heat's first season of existence came back in 1988. The team won just 15 games and was led by head coach Ron Rothstein.
Since that inaugural season, the Heat have been blessed with Hall of Fame players and coaches. The franchise has a total of 1,335 regular-season wins, made the playoffs 20 times and captured three titles.
Everyone already knows Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are the two best players to have donned a Heat uniform, but for this piece, we'll be ranking the four best coaches in Heat franchise history.
After all, it takes a great leader of men to ultimately guide a team full of egos on a championship run.
4. Kevin Loughery
Loughery was the second coach in Heat franchise history after Rothstein. He coached the team for four years and won 133 regular-season games and two playoff contests.
Loughery's 133 regular-season wins put him in third place on the Heat's all-time coaching wins list.
3. Stan Van Gundy
Van Gundy was in South Beach for two and a half years. He racked up 112 regular-season wins and only lost 73. He has the best winning percentage for any Heat coach.
Stan went 17-11 in the playoffs with the Heat. He has the third-most postseason wins in Miami franchise history. Van Gundy was replaced by Pat Riley after 21 games during the 2005-06 season and the rest is history.
2. Pat Riley
Riley led the Heat to the 2006 championship over the Dallas Mavericks, giving Miami its first title in franchise history. Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the six-game series to win Finals MVP.
Riley won 454 games with the Heat during the regular season and 34 in the playoffs. He's second in franchise history in both categories. Riley won a total of five championships as a coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat.
Things got even better once he became an exec with the Heat in 2008.
1. Erik Spoelstra
Things weren't always great with Spoelstra early on but Riley has been rewarded for sticking with his young protégé.
The Heat have won two championships with Spoelstra at the helm. It came in back-to-back fashion in 2012 and 2013. LeBron, Wade and Chris Bosh delivered on their promise to bring multiple rings to Miami but the Big 3 doesn't accomplish that feat sans Spoelstra.
With 564 regular-season wins and counting, Spoelstra is the winningest coach in Heat franchise history. Erik also has 71 postseason victories. The way he was able to manage LeBron, Wade and Bosh while making sure all the role players were still getting their touches was remarkable to watch during the Big 3 era.
The Heat won a franchise-record 66 games during the 2012-13 season. Miami racked up 27 wins in a row at one point, falling six wins short of the 1971-72 Lakers' record of 33 straight wins.
The Chicago Bulls, minus Derrick Rose, defeated the Heat on March 27, 2013 at the United Center on national television to end the streak. Overall, though, Miami was pretty much unstoppable that season and Spoelstra was the brains behind the whole operation strategically.
LeBron won the 2012-13 regular-season MVP award after averaging 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 76 games. The Heat won the Finals in magical fashion over the San Antonio Spurs, with both James and Spoelstra capturing their second rings apiece.
The King also got his second Finals MVP after averaging 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists against the Spurs. The positions and situations Spoelstra put LeBron in were perfect for his billing at the time.
Follow Us
Subscribe
