The Miami Heat have been one of the most successful teams in the NBA over the last 15 seasons. They are making their 6th NBA Finals appearance since 2011, and were crowned champions twice during that span. Years have gone by, and the players have all changed (except for Udonis Haslem), but there are two figures who have remained constant: Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra.
Pat Riley Has Been In 26% Of All NBA Finals
With the Heat advancing, Pat Riley has now been part of 25% of the NBA Finals in league history.
The Godfather 👏 pic.twitter.com/c7oCrBd1sp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 30, 2023
The latter has one of the greatest rise-to-the-top stories of any coach in the NBA. Spoelstra joined the Heat organization in 1995 as a video coordinator, and worked his way up through the ranks until he was the head coach of the team. He has been one of the most successful people at his job, as he is one of the two coaches in the league to hold his job for more than 10 years. Spoelstra has a record of 704-491 (.589) in the regular season and a playoff mark of 108-71 (.603).
But the true key to the success of the Miami Heat over the years is Pat Riley.
Riley joined Miami with an already impressive resume that he as only bolstered. After a playing career best known for his time with the Lakers, he became a coach for the team during one of the most successful runs in franchise history. He racked up championships while leading Magic Johnson and company before leaving to become the coach of the New York Knicks.
Pat Riley & Udonis Haslem are going back to the NBA Finals!
This will be UD’s 7th appearance and Pat’s 19th (player/coach/executive) pic.twitter.com/3AcvEZZHKC
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 30, 2023
Having been with the Heat organization for nearly 30 years and enjoying all of the team’s recent success, Riley is making history now that Miami has qualified for the 2023 Finals.
There have been 73 NBA Finals series played in league history, and Pat Riley has been a part of 19 of them in some capacity as a player, coach, or executive. This means that he has been a part of 26% of all NBA Finals in the history of the sport. It is an impressive number that very likely won’t be touched.
Will Riley’s team come out of the upcoming series with a victory? They are heavy underdogs to the Denver Nuggets, but the Heat have been overcoming long shot odds all postseason long.
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