MIAMI \u2014 Erik Spoelstra has had similar moments before, coaching against a mentor in Stan Van Gundy and against a protege in David Fizdale.<\/p>\n
But Monday at Kaseya Center was different.<\/p>\n
No, Dusty May never coached alongside Erik Spoelstra and, yet, as with many coaches in South Florida during Spoelstra\u2019s 19-year tenure as Heat coach, a bond was forged.<\/p>\n
It was, in fact, just three years ago that\u00a0 the two could be seen huddling at Florida Atlantic University during yet another Heat training camp in Boca Raton, Spoelstra\u2019s Heat coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals, May off an appearance with FAU in the NCAA\u2019s Final Four.<\/p>\n
It was a moment that oozed sideline success.<\/p>\n
And, as we learned Monday, one that was part of enduring respect.<\/p>\n
In the interim, Spoelstra had hired May\u2019s son Jack as a Heat video intern, signed Vlad Goldin out of May\u2019s Michigan program, and, as we learned during the coaches\u2019 pregame interviews before the Mavericks defeated the Heat<\/a> on Monday night, for years has huddled with May numerous times in meetings of basketball minds.<\/p>\n So Spoelstra still in the same space as Heat coach.<\/p>\n But since those informal conversations during that 2023 Heat training camp at FAU, May went on to become a championship coach last April in Michigan and now stands as Mavericks coach.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s happened fast,\u201d Spoelstra said of May\u2019s rise up the basketball charts. \u201cWhen he was at FAU, we got to know him, and we were fans from afar.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then got to know him, ironically, better and more often when we were able to see him when he went to Michigan, because of Jack, his son, being in our video room. He would fly down three or four times a year, stop by the gym and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Sharing thoughts.<\/p>\n And, it turns out, stealing thoughts.<\/p>\n \u201cI came down, I probably watched 50 practices or workouts in the offseason,\u201d May said of the Heat\u2019s sessions. \u201cSpent a couple training camps with him, so a lot of what we do has been things that we\u2019ve stolen from them, and from studying and watching them and finding creative ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n And, technically, stolen staff, having not only hired his son away from the Heat, but also adding former Heat shooting coach Rob Fodor.<\/p>\n All while also keeping tabs on another element of the Heat\/FAU connection, Goldin the center for FAU\u2019s 2023 Final Four team before moving on with May to Michigan.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of us got together at his wedding this summer,\u201d May said of the Heat 7-footer<\/a> who is under two-way contract for a second year. \u201cJust incredibly happy for him to be in this organization, to be developing as he is and just waiting on his opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike Spoelstra, May\u2019s has been a career of constant movement, as assistant at Eastern Michigan, Murray State, Alabama-Birmingham, Louisiana Tech and Florida, then coach at FAU from 2018-24, then on to Michigan from 2024-26, and now guiding Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re all wired differently as people,\u201d May, 49, said of his odyssey compared to Spoelstra\u2019s stability. \u201cI\u2019ve been a basketball vagabond even as a young assistant, and I thought it was a great thing other than what it does to your family, because you meet so many different people.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever you\u2019re on a quest to become the best you can be, I think as many experiences, as many basketball opportunities you can find, get. I\u2019m so grateful to learn from all the players and assistant coaches and head coaches that I\u2019ve worked for.\u201d<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t preclude respect for the Heat\u2019s commitment to continuity.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, they have their way of doing it here, and if you can hang on, hopefully I can hang on,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have been successful as long as they have, that\u2019s obviously the gold standard. My path was just a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n But, Spoelstra, 55, said, one worthy of the respect afforded with this NBA opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a heck of a coach,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it. He can have success like he had staying in college, but the way he coaches, I think, is built for the NBA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really a credit to his communication skills, and he\u2019s relentless as a learner.\u201d<\/p>\n IN THE LANE<\/p>\n PERSONAL PRIDE: As the NBA\u2019s first Asian-American coach, the Heat\u2019s Erik Spoelstra found himself taking personal pride during the WNBA Finals in the work of Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, a third-generation Japanese-American. \u201cI got to know her a long time ago when she was a video coordinator in college, and then we stayed in touch. She reached out to me to talk to me about just learning,\u201d said Spoelstra, who is of Filipino descent. \u201cI think she\u2019s one of the great learners in this game. She\u2019s relentless about trying to get better, improve. I love her humility.\u201d Nakase\u2019s resume includes a stint as a Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach. \u201cI love her path that she\u2019s taken to get to there,\u201d continued Spoelstra, who himself started his climb as a video coordinator. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t skipped any steps. She\u2019s literally one of the hardest workers in this profession. I\u2019ve admired her for a long time for her stamina, for her fortitude, for her relentlessness, and she\u2019s an amazing human being. I root for her all the time.\u201d Spoelstra said the Heat staff typically roots for the Las Vegas Aces, because of Bam Adebayo\u2019s relationship with A\u2019ja Wilson. But otherwise he said Nakase has his WNBA attention. \u201cShe inspires me. She really does,\u201d he said. \u2018The way she\u2019s grown and improved, it inspires me to stay with that kind of growth mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n GOT AWAY: Yes, that was former Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. going for 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting Monday night in a critical bench effort in the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 victory over the Heat. The same Clayton who was available on waivers to any of the league\u2019s teams, eventually taking a two-way deal with Dallas. \u201cI think last year was an up-and-down year,\u201d Clayton, who split last season between the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, said, according to Dallas\u2019 Morning News<\/a>. \u201cI only take it as a learning year. I think we go through everything for a reason. I\u2019m thankful for last year and I\u2019m glad to be here in Dallas.\u201d Clayton said he appreciates the Dallas expectations are basic. \u201cJust be a good lead guard, make sure the team is organized whenever I\u2019m on the floor, hit shots,\u201d said Clayton, the No. 18 pick out of Florida in 2025. \u201cI think that\u2019s it. Make sure everybody\u2019s involved.\u201d<\/p>\n THE KASPARAS FILE: The NBA\u2019s focus on flopping has landed firmly on a former Heat prospect, with 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jaku\u010dionis fined twice after the fact by the NBA for perceived flops in his action with the Milwaukee Bucks. That\u2019s at $2,000 a pop. Along the way, Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, a teammate on Lithuania\u2019s national team, said Jaku\u010dionis arguably is in a better place. \u201cHe\u2019s going to have his chance in Milwaukee,\u201d Buzelis said, according to BasketNews<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m excited for him. He works extremely hard, he\u2019s a humble kid, and he\u2019s going to strive to accomplish his goals. We\u2019re going to be the new leaders of the Lithuanian national team. Representing Lithuania, it\u2019s going to be great whenever we play, whenever we cross paths.\u201d Jaku\u010dionis was part of the Heat\u2019s trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n THE KELLY FILE: Speaking of foreign intrigue, former Heat big man Kelly Olynyk is making the most of his time in Italy, having signed with BC Roma after being bypassed in NBA free agency this summer. \u201cI played 13 years in the NBA; it was time to step aside and make room for the younger generation,\u201d Olynyk said during his introductory media session, according to Repubblica<\/a>. As part of his acclimation, Olynyk even took in a Serie A game as a fan. \u201cThere was incredible energy. The style was a bit different from the NBA,\u201d he said, \u201cbut the fans were deeply passionate, and that\u2019s the exact kind of environment every player wants to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n ON A ROLL: So, of course, the Detroit Pistons\u2019 early-season scoring leaders have been Cade Cunningham and . . . Duncan Robinson. Robinson said he finds himself far more at ease in his second season with the Pistons, after being dealt by the Heat during the 2025 offseason for Simone Fontecchio in a salary-cap move. \u201cI am a lot more comfortable in year two. Just being able to be around these guys in the locker room and the coaching staff has helped me a ton,\u201d Robinson said, according to the Detroit News<\/a>. \u201cThey have allowed me to be the best version of myself. So, for me, it\u2019s about picking my spots in stretches where I need to be more aggressive, while understanding moments when I need to floor-space. This is only something I think I\u2019ve gotten better at over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n NUMBER<\/p>\n 4. Players to play double-digit seasons with the Heat, with Bam Adebayo joining the group in this, his 10th Heat season. The record is 20 seasons by Udonis Haslem, with 15 by Dwyane Wade and 11 by Alonzo Mourning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Erik Spoelstra has had similar moments before, coaching against a mentor in Stan Van Gundy and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[114,123,125,2490,124,2295,110],"class_list":["post-443586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-news","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}