Erik Spoelstra Wins 800th Game
Dec 1, 2025
Eric Spoelstra had no idea why his players were dumping water bottles on him in the locker room on Wednesday evening following the Miami Heat’s 106–103 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. At first, he thought it may have been related to whether or not the team advanced to the playoff round of the NBA Cup, but then he looked around and noticed that nobody else was getting the same water celebratory treatment.
That’s when it hit him. He had just hit the 800-win milestone.
The milestone makes Spoelstra the 17th coach in NBA history to reach 800 wins. But here is what makes it even more significant: he’s only the third coach ever to do it all with one team, joining the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Utah Jazz’s Jerry Sloan.
Heat guard Tyler Herro, who scored 29 points in the victory, reflected on the moment. “I’m trying to think of how old I was when Spo probably got his first one, and then to be where he is now, he’s got 800 of them, is insane.” For the record, Herro was just eight years old when Spoelstra won his first game in 2008.
What makes the win even more special is how the Heat are outperforming expectations this season. After being embarrassed in last year's playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Spoelstra and company went back to the drawing board and completely redesigned Miami's offense. No longer are they grinding out a slow-paced half-court game, as they are now the fastest-paced team in the league and the second-highest scoring, averaging 122.9 points per game.
Currently sitting third in the Eastern Conference with a 13–6 record and just 2.5 games back of the first-place Detroit Pistons, Spoelstra and the Heat are finding ways to win without any true superstars or splashy off-season acquisitions.
Ironically, despite winning 800 games, two championships, and making six trips to the NBA Finals, the one award that has eluded Spoelstra has been the NBA Coach of the Year. With low pre-season expectations, no superstars, and no drama, this might finally be the year that Spoelstra earns a piece of hardware that acknowledges he’s the best coach in the league.
