NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 29, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. How long did it take between the celebration the other night from advancing to The Finals and everybody kind of digging back in to what you guys need to do now going forward?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We did take a night just to acknowledge it and enjoy it. The players and the staff and families that were here, I wanted everybody to have perspective on how difficult this is, how extraordinary of an experience all of this is, being part of this bubble, being here for 80-plus days, surviving all of it and earning the right to compete for an NBA title.

We just got off a very competitive, hard-fought series, and emotionally I don't think anybody was ready just to turn that page. But yesterday was a workday. For the players, it was a day just to recover and relax. We got together last night and did some more prep today.

Q. How is LeBron different today than he was the last time he wore a Heat uniform?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know, but I just think it is a true testament to his greatness to be able to sustain this type of success year in, year out. Different uniforms. New players and new teams going after him. It's a real testament to that commitment.

He's seen everything. At this point in his career, it's just about winning. And his ability to do what he does at his age is incredibly uncommon. But there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to be able to maintain that.

Q. I know this has been talked about before, but you guys have a couple Kentucky guys there. One is the boss [Pat Riley] and two have been a huge part of this run [Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro]. What is it about Kentucky guys, or the two you have anyway, and about their Kentucky experience that has prepared them to be ready for such a stage so soon?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, we have to have a few Kentucky guys on our team because of my boss. That's like a prerequisite. Somehow, some way we've got to get somebody from his alma mater on our roster.

This Finals seems like a great recruiting pitch for Cal [John Calipari], doesn't it? I'm not sure he's going to maximize that.

We love Kentucky players because you're there to get better, to be pushed, to understand what it means to play for a team, play a role and to train to become a pro at this level. You're going to face good competition in practice. You're going to be expected to work. It's an environment that, as much as it possibly can, prepares you for the pros, even though it's at the collegiate level.

Our two guys played significantly different roles for Kentucky when they were in college. That was part of the thing that we liked. They were both willing to play a role. Young players oftentimes, it's just about how many shots they can get, and how many touches, scores, so they can improve their draft process. But if you just watch all of those games of Tyler and Bam -- when we met with them, they both said, hey, we're capable of doing more. You always take that with a grain of salt. Every player says that. But they truly did just commit to a role and then worked like crazy behind the scenes on their player development.

It's been obviously just a good fit with us, their mentality and how we are.

Q. Much got made and much still gets made about how LeBron changed after 2011. How much did going through that change you as well? It seemed like that was when there was a further commitment to positionless and putting together guys as groups instead of individuals and figuring out how you can play guys as five instead of where one guy would fit. It seemed a lot changed with you that offseason. How much did going through that help you out as well?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, those were great professional life experiences to have that opportunity to grow. The first two teams I coached as a head coach were much different than that whole experience. The game started to change during that run, and we had to adapt and adjust accordingly. I learned and grew in the NBA in the '90s under Pat and then the early 2000s. You look at those games systematically and schematically and stylistically compared to where it is now, it's two different sports.

So I'm just very grateful that I had that opportunity to be able to grow and be on that journey with that group. That was an amazing team, and everything that came about it. In many ways, just my personality, I hated it. I'm an introvert, but I think it was good to go through that. Sometimes even as a professional, just to get out of your comfort zone and embrace it and see what happens when you get on the other side of it.

It feels like a totally different chapter in my life. But I'm truly grateful to be around those special players. That group was so committed to coming together to compete for titles.

Q. After LeBron left in 2014, how long did it take you to come to terms and recognize that there's going to be another chapter? And what's it been like to see him make five more Finals appearances since you guys parted ways?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, the first part of that, we went through the whole process. I went through my own six-week reflection period that summer. But then you get back to work. We've built a lot of different teams over the years. We've been conditioned to move on and give everything, your heart and soul, to the next group and the next team. We really thought that we had a championship-contending team that next year. That's how we approached it. It's irrelevant what anybody else thought.

We knew what we were losing. But when we made that midseason trade for Goran, we made a promise to him that we would be competing for titles. It was just so unfortunate that CB [Chris Bosh] wasn't able to finish the season. But we owed it to Goran to fight for it and go for it. We ended up fighting for the playoffs. Dwyane missed 25 games, but we were just there at the end and got knocked out of the playoffs with three days to go. You gain that experience. I think it was important to show Goran that we were not going to tank, and we were going to continue to build.

The next year was the year that we were able to go to Game 7. We thought that was a legit, contending team. We had that just really tough seven-game series with Toronto, and weren't able to make it to the Conference Finals to play against Cleveland. We thought we really had a chance that year.

That's what this game does to you sometimes; it breaks your heart. That year really broke our heart. We thought we really had a good run in us. And that was the second year, that's where, again, CB had to step away.

To see what LeBron has done, when he moved on to Cleveland and then to here, it really is just a testament to his greatness and his commitment to winning. To be able to do it with different rosters and uniforms is really remarkable.