Erik Spoelstra is staying in South Beach for a long time.
The Miami Heat head coach since 2008, Spoelstra has reportedly agreed to an eight-year extension worth $120 million.
The money is the most ever given to a coach in the history of the NBA, beating Gregg Popovich’s deal that was worth north of $80 million he got last July.
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Head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on in the game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on November 20, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Popvich had beaten Monty Williams’ $78.5 million from the month before.
The extension comes months after the Heat were in the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed, the second to ever do so. They also made the Eastern Conference Finals the year prior.
Spoelstra has been on the organization’s coaching staff since 1997, serving as an assistant for 11 years. He started in the video room and eventually became a scout, an assistant coach and then Pat Riley’s hand-picked successor as head coach in April 2008.
He has taken the Heat to the NBA Finals six times, including four-straight trips from 2011 to 2014, winning it all twice (2012 and 2013).
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
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Spoelstra’s 725 regular-season wins rank 19th in NBA history, and only three coaches — Popovich with the Spurs, Jerry Sloan with Utah and Red Auerbach with Boston — have won more games with one franchise than Spoelstra has with the Heat.
He is also an assistant coach for USA Basketball in this Olympic cycle and will be part of head coach Steve Kerr’s staff at the Paris Games this summer. Spoelstra will likely be among the top candidates to take over the Olympic team for the next cycle that will culminate at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Assistant coach Erik Spoelstra and Anthony Edwards #10 of the United States warm up before a 2023 FIBA World Cup exhibition game against Puerto Rico at T-Mobile Arena on August 07, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Spoelstra’s current deal expires after this season.
The Heat are currently 21-15, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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