Stan Van Gundy can’t help but tip his hat to his fellow Eastern Conference head coaching counterpart.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Van Gundy, who formerly served as head coach of the Miami Heat, had high praise for current Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who used to be one of the assistants on his staff.
“There’s not a better coach in the league than Erik,” Van Gundy said, per Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “People discounted him because he had (LeBron James), (Dwyane) Wade and (Chris) Bosh. Gregg Popovich is one of the best ever. Phil Jackson best ever. Nobody goes to four straight Finals. Nobody. He did. OK?”
Van Gundy hits the nail right on the head. Despite the four straight NBA Finals appearances and two championship rings (not to mention a third title as an assistant on the team in 2006), Spoelstra is often slept on because of the machine gun talent on those Big Three era teams. But it was Spoelstra’s ability to manage egos and get his players to buy into his positionless, read-and-react brand of basketball that parlayed that talent into championship-caliber play.
What Spoelstra has accomplished this season is perhaps even more remarkable. With James back in Cleveland, Wade in Chicago, and Bosh sidelined with a career-threatening medical condition, Spoelstra has managed to rattle off an improbable 13-game winning streak with a group of largely no-name mercenaries. The streak has also come without Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, arguably Miami’s two best young players.
Spoelstra has proven time and time again that he can get the most out of any roster, whether it be a loaded group of All-Stars or a bunch of bottom-of-the-barrel misfits, and that’s enough to win the total respect of Van Gundy, who has always had Spoelstra’s back, and countless others in the league.
