Erik Spoelstra

Erik Jon Spoelstra ( SPOHL-strə; born November 1, 1970), is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the U . national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time, he has won three NBA championships with the Heat, including two as the team's head coach. Spoelstra played college basketball with the Portland Pilots before playing professionally and coaching in Germany. He served as assistant coach and director of scouting for the Heat from 2001 to 2008, during which time the team won the 2006 NBA Finals. Spoelstra was promoted to head coach in the 2008–09 season. The Heat have made six NBA Finals appearances during his tenure, winning consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013. Spoelstra, who is of Filipino descent, is the first Asian American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues and the first Asian American head coach to win an NBA title. Following the retirement of Gregg Popovich as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in 2025, Spoelstra has been the longest-tenured active NBA head coach with a single team; as of 2026 he has also been the longest-tenured active coach in North American professional sports after the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin resigned.