Top 5 NBA coaches of 2012-13

2. Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Erik Spoelstra

While Spoelstra has in his arsenal a triumvirate of Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and the best player of this generation, LeBron James, his work in sealing Miami’s second straight championship shouldn’t be unrecalled.

In game 2 of the NBA Finals, Spoelstra effectively sealed Tony Parker, and he did so again in game 4. Moreover, his implementation of Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem as strictly a defensive threat work additionally in the Heat’s favor.

Spoelstra also has forged together a team of superstars avoiding any locker room turmoil. While it is easier said than done to have three of the best players in the NBA play for you, egos could be sky high in the Heat’s dressing room. Just ask Phil Jackson, the game’s most successful coach, how he struggled to keep Shaq and Kobe Bryant together in the same locker room.

But Spoelstra, a young tutelary, has managed to earn the respect of the entire team, and the basketball fraternity despite not having any previous NBA coaching experience.

To evince what he could do without a superstar team, he led the Heat to two playoffs before LeBron and Bosh jumped ship to the Heat bandwagon. Now, he sits ahoy with two NBA championships under his belt.

In 2012-13, Spolestra’s team finished as the best in regular and post season. He also finished second in the Coach of the Year voting. Most importantly, he worked incredibly well with a team whose only weapon in front and backcourt throughout most of the playoffs was LeBron James.

It wasn’t easy coming up against front court superpowers such as the Spurs and Pacers when both your center and power forward don’t seem to be matching up. But if the Heat were one of the league’s best defending teams in 2012-13 despite being lacklustre in frontcourt for a major part of the regular and post season, it is because Spoelstra preaches defence ardently.