Miami's Spoelstra recalls beginning of Heat career

MANILA, Philippines — After 25 years of rising through the ranks of the Miami Heat organization, Filipino-American Erik Spoelstra recalled how his journey to becoming an NBA champion coach began.

Spoelstra, whose father was a former NBA executive, started out as a simple video coordinator for the Heat and slowly moved his way up.

In an NBA Together video conference with broadcaster Ernie Johnson, Spoelstra shared his experience throughout his career.

Spoelstra narrated receiving a call from the NBA franchise while he was in Germany in 1995 — where he continued his basketball playing career after college.

"There was going to be an internship [with the Heat], just to help with the draft," Spoelstra said.

"Dave Wohl, the Vice President of Basketball Ops at the time and Chris Wallace, who had worked with my dad with the Portland Trailblazers said 'hey, they're going to open up this new position' and its a video coordinator position," he continued.

Spoelstra ended up taking the position and was in charge of the team's film room but needed to prove himself early with Pat Riley, the Heat's new head coach at the time, before taking over the reins.

The 49-year-old remembered having to survive a massive reorganization only due to luck, with the team having no time to replace him anymore.

"The only reason I survived that turnover was because it was so late... and they didn't have anybody," Spoelstra said.

"I had kind of a one year leeway to prove myself and 25 years later, they haven't found a way to get rid of me yet," he added in jest.

Two years after his initial position with the Heat, Spoesltra managed to snag an assistant coaching position, and that lasted for 11 years.

He finally took over as head coach in 2008 and helped Miami win championships in 2012 and 2013.

Spoelstra, who was born to a Filipina mother from San Pablo, Laguna, remains the lead tactician for the Heat after 12 years of being in the position.

#NBATogether with Ernie Johnson (@TurnerSportsEJ) and guest Erik Spoelstra... tune in NOW! ??https://t.co/uVF6sThaTd

— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2020