List of Miami Heat head coaches

The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] The team joined the NBA in 1988 as an expansion team with the Charlotte Hornets,[2] and won its first NBA championship in 2006.[3] The team played its home games at the Miami Arena until 2000,[4] and have played its home games at the American Airlines Arena since then.[5] The Heat is owned by Micky Arison.[6]

There have been six head coaches for the Heat franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Ron Rothstein, who served for three seasons with the Heat. Pat Riley, having coached the Heat for eleven seasons in two stints, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (849), the most regular-season game wins (454), the most playoff games coached (50), and the most playoff-game wins (26); Erik Spoelstra is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest winning percentage in the regular season (.707) and total wins (607). Riley is the only Heat head coach to be named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history,[7] to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, having won it in the 1996–97 season[8] and to have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, having been elected into the Hall of Fame in 2008.[9] Spoelstra is the only Heat head coach to have spent his entire NBA coaching career with the Heat, and has been the head coach of the Heat since 2008.[10]

Key

GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
Win% Winning percentage
# Number of coaches[a]
* Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Heat
Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season.

# Name Term[b] GC W L Win% GC W L Win% Achievements Reference
Regular season Playoffs
1 Ron Rothstein 19881991 246 57 189 .232 [11]
2 Kevin Loughery 19911995 292 133 159 .455 8 2 6 .250 [12]
3 Alvin Gentry 1995 36 15 21 .417 [13]
4 Pat Riley 19952003 624 354 270 .567 43 18 25 .419 One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)[7]
1996–97 NBA Coach of the Year[8]
One of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (2022)[14]
[9]
5 Stan Van Gundy 20032005 185 112 73 .605 28 17 11 .607 [15]
Pat Riley 20052008 225 100 125 .444 27 16 11 .593 NBA championship (2006)[3] [9]
6 Erik Spoelstra* 2008–present 1,277 750 527 .587 184 109 75 .592 NBA championship (2012, 2013)[16]
One of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (2022)[17]
  • Pat Riley coached the Heat to the NBA championship in the 2006 NBA Finals.
    Pat Riley coached the Heat to the NBA championship in the 2006 NBA Finals.
  • Stan Van Gundy coached the Heat to the Conference Finals in 2005.
    Stan Van Gundy coached the Heat to the Conference Finals in 2005.
  • Erik Spoelstra coached the Heat to two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, as well as Conference Championships in 2011, 2014, 2020, and 2023.
    Erik Spoelstra coached the Heat to two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, as well as Conference Championships in 2011, 2014, 2020, and 2023.

Notes

  • a A running total of the number of coaches of the Heat. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  • b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.

References

General
  • "Miami Heat Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
Specific
  1. ^ "2008-2009 Division Regular Season Standings". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  2. ^ "After Early Struggles, Miami Proves It's Tough To Beat The HEAT". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "NBA Finals: All-Time Champions". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  4. ^ "1988-89: Victory Hard to Come By". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  5. ^ "1999-2000: A New Millennium Begins In A New Arena". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  6. ^ "Heat Executives". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  8. ^ a b "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c "Pat Riley Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  10. ^ "Miami Heat Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  11. ^ "Ron Rothstein Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  12. ^ "Kevin Loughery Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  13. ^ "Alvin Gentry Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  14. ^ "NBA 75: Top 15 coaches in league history revealed". NBA.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  15. ^ "Stan Van Gundy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  16. ^ "Erik Spoelstra Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "NBA 75: Top 15 coaches in league history revealed". NBA.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
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Miami Heat head coaches

# denotes interim head coach

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Miami Heat
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Andy Elisburg
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Erik Spoelstra
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