Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Spoelstra honored by his peers.
MIAMI — Like other NBA coaches, Erik Spoelstra worked that latter stages of this past season with a lapel pin in memory of Michael H. Goldberg, the executive director of the National Basketball Coaches Association for more than 30 years who died in January of at age 73.
Now Spoelstra will carry on Goldberg’s legacy in another fashion. The Miami Heat coach along with Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni were named Sunday co-recipients of the inaugural Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award.
Unlike the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, which is selected in a media vote and will be presented at the league’s awards ceremony June 26, the NBCA award is voted upon by the league’s 30 coaches.
In the immediate wake of Goldberg’s passing in January, Spoelstra said, “Michael Goldberg was such a champion for all the coaches and the entire association. The work that he did, that’ll continue to happen, is so incredible for us to be set up with benefits and things that weren’t available before.”
Like other NBA coaches, Spoelstra worked games in a bowtie, Goldberg’s trademark accessory, in the wake of Goldberg’s passing.
“On a personal note, for me, Michael was a friend,” Spoelstra said in January. “I remember my first head coaches meeting, I was 37 years old, I walked in the room and I didn’t feel like I belonged.
“And the one guy that made me feel welcome and part of the fraternity was Michael. I always remember that, and every single time after that, every single one of those meetings, I looked forward to seeing him and just talking and catching up.”
The Goldberg award, according to the coaches’ association, is for the coach, “who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court.”
Spoelstra, who helped the Heat rebound from 11-30 at midseason to a 41-41 finish, received votes from nine NBA head coaches, as did D’Antoni, whose team is in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Others receiving votes included former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale, who guided the Memphis Grizzlies this season, his first as an NBA head coach, as well as Scott Brooks, Steve Kerr, Jason Kidd, Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers and Quin Snyder.
“Somewhere up above our good friend Michael Goldberg is very proud,” said Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, president of the coaches’ association.
Spoelstra and D’Antoni will receive their award at the NBCA annual meeting in September.
The only Heat coach to win the NBA’s formal Coach of the Year award was Pat Riley, in 1997. Balloting for the NBA’s Coach of the Year award was completed before the start of the playoffs.