Watch: Heat coach Spoelstra says lessons transcend basketball after NBA Finals loss - UPI.com (2024)

1 of 6 | Coach Erik Spoelstra (C) led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals six times over the last 13 seasons. Photo by C.J. Gunther/EPA-EFE

"But I think this is a team that a lot of people can relate to."

The Heat, who scored the fewest points per game in the NBA, were the first play-in tournament team in league history to reach the Finals.

They were dismissed by many because of a lackluster regular-season campaign, fuel Spoelstra often used as motivation for his group, composed of veterans and undrafted-players-turned-starters.

"If you ever felt that you were dismissed or felt that you were made to feel less than, we had a lot of people in our locker room that probably have had that," Spoelstra said. "There's probably a lot of people out there, you know, who felt that at some time or another."

He added: The way the Heat handled setbacks and adversity helped players develop a "collective grit and perseverance."

The story started when the Heat opened the season with a 7-11 record. They later went 20-10 during a 30-game stretch from mid-December through mid-February and never again fell below .500.

The Heat then lost their first play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks and forced to face the Chicago Bulls in an elimination game, with the winner gaining the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff field.

They trailed 90-89 with 2:26 remaining in that contest, but went on to win 102-91, clinching a first-round matchup against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who won an NBA-best 58 regular-season games.

The No. 8 Heat -- who weren't favored in any playoff series -- upset the Bucks in just five games, despite losing guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo to injuries.

They then beat the No. 5 New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Heat went on to upset the No. 2 Boston Celtics, who won the second-most games in the NBA, in seven games in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Heat, who joined the 1998-99 Knicks as the only No. 8 seed to reach the Finals, lost Game 1 in Denver. They then handed the Nuggets their lone home loss this postseason. The Nuggets then closed out the Heat with three-consecutive victories, clinching the first title in the history of the 47-year-old franchise.

"I mentioned this before; hopefully these are lessons that will transcend this beautiful game; that hopefully these are lessons that we can pass along to our children; that even though it is sport, you can learn lessons of life from this game," Spoelstra said.

"You can persevere. You can handle what people may view as mini-failures along the way and become stronger from it and to be able to overcome things and find beautiful things on the other side of that."

Spoelstra, 52, started his Heat tenure in 1995 as a video coordinator. He worked his way up to an assistant coach and was named head coach in 2008. He posted a 704-492 record over his first 15 seasons, leading the Heat to two championships.

Spoelstra led the Heat to the NBA Finals six times of the last 13 seasons. His 704 wins rank 20th all-time among NBA coaches. He is the second-longest tenured coach (15 years), trailing only Gregg Popovich (27 years) of the San Antonio Spurs.

"We're all hard-wired to compete for the ultimate prize," Spoelstra said. "But you also want to develop lifelong memories and a brotherhood and a bond that you'll be able to carry on from years from now that we've been able to go through something that's memorable.

"I told each one of the guys, I love them. I love this team, and I'm just super grateful that we are able to go through all of the experiences, even the tough times during the year, to be able to have a season like this. This is one for the journal books."