The Miami Heat logged their first win of the NBA Finals on Sunday, as they defeated the mighty Los Angeles Lakers 115-104. In the process, Erik Spoelstra made a bit of history from a personal standpoint, as he climbed up the rankings in the most Finals wins of all-time for a head coach.
Congrats to @MiamiHEAT Coach Erik Spoelstra for moving up to 7th on the #NBAFinals WINS list! pic.twitter.com/SRvJuESDCb
— NBA (@NBA) October 5, 2020
Prior to Sunday's victory, Erik Spoelstra was previously stuck at 10th place, tied with legendary head coach Chuck Daly, who himself guided the Detroit Pistons to three straight Finals appearances between 1988 and 1990. Daly also led the Bad Boys Pistons to back-to-back titles in '89 and '90.
Spoelstra has had his fair share of trips to the pinnacle of the sport. He coached a Big 3-led Heat side to four consecutive Finals appearances from 2011 to 2014, which likewise resulted in two titles.
Article Continues BelowIronically, Spoelstra is now going up against the man he won those two titles with for the Heat some seven years ago — LeBron James. The Lakers superstar is hoping that Coach Spo doesn't make any more strides in the above list during this series.
Many have counted out the Heat in the series already, especially after two of their best players in Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo went down in Game 1 with respective injuries. More than a few folks were expecting a clean sweep by a powerhouse L.A. side, but clearly, that is not going to be the case.
Spoelstra and the Heat have a full day off before they return to action on Tuesday for Game 4. Needless to say, they will need to come out with another impeccable performance in order to tie this series at 2-2.