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Spoelstra Got Started In the 'Mail Room'
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"He said, 'Someday . . .' and walked away," Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra analyzed the conversation for days, wondering: "What did he say? What did he mean?"
The son of Jon Spoelstra, a longtime NBA marketing executive with the Portland Trail Blazers and other teams, Erik Spoelstra for years attended all 41 Trail Blazers home games as a boy. So determined was he to improve his chances of winning a college scholarship, he shot 30,000 three-point field goals between his junior and senior years at Portland's Jesuit High, charting the result of each attempt in a notebook. That winter, he won a full ride to the University of Portland, where he played point guard.
"It really reverts to work ethic and focus," Jon Spoelstra said by phone from Portland. "The Spoelstra family has either been blessed with that or cursed with it, I'm not sure the right word."
Heat players noticed Spoelstra's devotion. In recent years, he was one of the most involved assistants, staying well after practice or arriving early to work with players on various skills. Wade said Spoelstra spent hours pushing and shoving him while he took jump shots, trying to force him to keep his balance even under pressure.
"We've been here a while together," Wade said. "There have been many days in the gym, just me and him. We're just comfortable with each other. . . . He spent a lot of extra time after practices and before games, all to help. I appreciate him for it.
"He hasn't tried to be Van Gundy. He hasn't tried to be Pat Riley. He's just Spo."
