Erik Spoelstra Miami Heat 3x NBA champion (2006, 2012, 2013) -We’re not for everybody • We’re ok with that. We’re comfortable enough in our own skin and in how we are to say that. • People know what we stand for. • We believe in work. -How do we evolve but keep the structure? • Jim Collins: Preserve the core and stimulate progress -Build better relationships with players • Get to know them better • Become more player-centric (without getting away from who we were) • Get players’ input o What do they want? o What do they want out of a team? o What do they really care about? -Heat culture: • Hardest working • Best conditioned • Most professional • Most unselfish • Toughest • Meanest • Nastiest …team in the NBA -We had an odd makeup to our roster this past year. 9 of our 15 players were free agents at the end of the year. • Could have been a recipe for disaster • Challenged them: “Can you celebrate someone else?” -On the first day of camp, we talk about our ultimate goal. Everything else from that point on is process-driven. -I’ve learned a ton from failing • I was hard-driving and stubborn early on as a head coach. I wasn’t developing the relationships with my players that I needed to. • I’ve had fractured relationships. I’ve learned how to build better relationships as a result. -There will always be a pecking order on every team (CYO to NBA and everyone in between). -Everyone asks what it was like to coach the Big 3. It was easy. Were there distractions? Sure, but it was easy because those guys were extremely motivated to win. • They needed to win to validate everything that had happened. • It comes down to this a lot of times: Are your best players motivated to win? -Sacrifice • Such a meaningful word • Those guys were going to have to sacrifice • It started with a question from me to them, “You came here for a reason, what’s that reason?” • Easy to say until it’s you. -You think Dwyane Wade wanted to win? He recruited the best player in the game who happened to play the same position as him. He was the leader of the franchise and had already won a championship in the city, but he wanted to win more. He set the tone for the level of sacrifice for those Heat teams and everyone else followed (Bosh sacrificing stats, Battier playing the 4, etc). -Winning was supremely important to Chris Bosh. Do you know the emotional maturity required to willingly go from 27 points per game to 16? • “I want something different.” • He tried to take as many arrows as possible to protect everyone else. -Question to players: “How do you want this team to look?” -It’s important that values permeate the entire organization. It’s also important to develop a codified vision. • It’s ok if your standards aren’t established on day 1. Those can develop over the course of the season (values, however, need to be in place). -Heat training facility: no banners/no signs. It’s just a place for work. -Head coaches: develop your assistant coaches where they truly have ownership within your program and they’re not just ticket-givers. • Empowered Execution: It’s the role of the leader to create this in those that serve under him. -Coaching staff, front office, and operations all need to be on the same page so the players feel it from every layer of our organization. -I told the players, “I’m going to drive our culture hard over the first few weeks of the season. It might feel structured and too rigid, but you have to trust me. I want to instill this in you so I can hand it over and it’s yours and I’ll step back.” -Goal: Get 1% better every day (everyone in the organization). -It’s never personal. It’s about the standard. If the standard is well-articulated, it’s not the leader versus the players, it’s about the standard. -Give them ownership and then hold them accountable. -One of the things we need to do with rookies is teach them how to go through a film session (“You will get coached”). -Heat strength & conditioning program is known as the best in the NBA • Players develop confidence from body transformation o Before/after photos -Build a culture of a growth mindset • How do we continue to evolve? o Competition is changing. How do we stay contemporary? -Mike D’Antoni’s 2004-05 Phoenix Suns team averaged 24.7 three-pointers attempted per game. They were blasted by critics and fans for “ruining the game.” During the 2016-17 NBA season, a team averaging 24.7 three-pointers attempted per game would have been 22nd in the league in that category. • Game has changed -Golden State is playing another sport and it’s so different than what the rest of the NBA is doing that I can’t really call that a trend. -I don’t even want to talk about Golden State’s offense. It’s their defense that wows me. They got great players to sacrifice and make effort plays. They are scary good. -The versatility of players has really added another layer of sophistication to offenses. It’s the same play, but with the positions mixed. It looks completely different for the defense, but not much changes for the offense. -Shooting percentage spikes on inside-out 3’s. -I had my staff observe a shooting coach to see how he taught. Get top guys leading Get middle guys higher Clean up bottom -Learned a lot from observing an Oregon football practice under Chip Kelly. The pace of their practice was incredible. -Spoelstra’s meeting with LeBron before the 2010-11 season: • Do you want to be coached? • What’s it look like to you? • What do you want out of this? • What are your expectations of this? • How can I help? -As a staff, we don’t coddle. We are very direct. We are not going to embarrass you, but we’re going to correct. -Coach them to what our culture is. -Book recommendation: Insight by Tasha Eurich (beneficial for a coach to learn self- awareness). -The type of player we go for is a bit edgy -Sometimes you need a testy moment to breakthrough. It can’t be kumbaya all the time. -Quickest way for a team to derail is a lack of self-awareness. .