The 2025 NBA season has been a tumultuous one for the Miami Heat and their head coach, Erik Spoelstra. The majority of it was filled with the Jimmy Butler saga, that begrudgingly came to an end in early February when he was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the multitude of distractions thrown the Heat’s way, Spoelstra has kept his team on the right track (for the most part), and will continue guiding them toward a playoff appearance this season.
The Heat currently sit in the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. They hold a record of 35-41 after taking down the Boston Celtics 124-103 on Wednesday night. Win No. 35 was meaningful for Erik Spoelstra, as he moved into No. 17 on the all-time coaching wins list. The NBA made the announcement immediately following the win.
Wednesday night’s victory was No. 785 of Spoelstra’s illustrious 17-year coaching-career. He passed Gene Shue who won 784 games while coaching five different teams during his 22-year coaching-career.
The 54-year-old Spoelstra has spent his entire coaching career with the Heat since he took over for Pat Riley in 2008. Spoelstra famously won back-to-back NBA finals with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013.
Spoelstra has proven himself one of the most consistent coaches in NBA history (even without James). Spoelstra has only failed to make the playoffs three times, only finishing under .500 twice.
The victory over the Celtics was the sixth consecutive win for the Heat. That’s the longest winning streak currently in the Eastern Conference, and with six games remaining on their regular-season-schedule, the Heat can still reach the No. 7 seed.
They trail both the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic by 1.5 games and will attempt to inch closer to them when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.
