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Erik Spoelstra's Team USA rise could pay off for Miami Heat

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI
By Ethan J. Skolnick | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 4:44 PM ET

In the NBA transaction game, access is priceless.

Spending time around the game's superstars, especially when you have a reputation as someone who typically relates well to top players -- and has won championships with the Hall of Fame likes of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh -- is never a bad thing.

It's especially beneficial when you are not only the coach of an NBA team in an attractive market, as Erik Spoelstra is with the Miami Heat, but you have also been given more input into personnel decisions in recent years, with that influence likely to grow when Pat Riley ultimately retires.

So the report of Spoelstra's elevation from USA team assistant to head coach, in time for the World cup in 2026 followed by the Summer Olympics in 2028, is as welcome to the Heat as a whole as to Spoelstra himself.

Just in: USA Basketball is expected to name Erik Spoelstra as the new head coach of the men's national team, sources tell ESPN. Spoelstra succeeds Steve Kerr for the next World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics after serving as a lead assistant on Team USA's 2024 gold medal squad. pic.twitter.com/eApR2LsXeB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2025

First, it means that Bam Adebayo, barring injury, is almost certain to be on the squad again, to chase a third gold medal.

Second, it means that Spoelstra will further acquaint with future potential Heat targets such as Anthony Edwards, whose contract expires after the 2028-29 season, but who could become available sooner by trade if he becomes frustrated in failing to reach an NBA Finals with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And there will be other young talents who will get a chance to connect with Spoelstra as Edwards already has.

Third, Spoelstra will continue honing his craft, against international competition and while blending an international style. Already, the Heat have moved to more of a quick pace, pass first offense this preseason. We will see how long it sticks, but with more European-born players on the Heat roster than they've ever had, any continued exposure Spoelstra has to that approach -- at the highest level -- can be incorporated into his coaching repertoire.

Overall, in what was a mostly encouraging summer for the Heat, with the theft of Norman Powell in trade and the drafting of Kasparas Jakucionis, their coach's continued ascent may have topped them all.

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This article first appeared on Miami Heat on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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