MIAMI, FL, MARCH 3 - The NBA announced today that Miami HEAT Head Coach Erik Spoelstra was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February. This marks the sixth time Spoelstra has earned the monthly honor, the most in team history, and the 14th time a HEAT coach has won the award.
Spoelstra earned the accolades after guiding the HEAT to a league-best 9-1 (.900) record during February, winning five of those games by double-figures, including the last three-straight all by double-digits. Their 9-1 February record marked Miami’s 26th consecutive winning month, the longest such streak in franchise history. Despite having a franchise-low three home games during a full calendar month and a franchise-longest 19 days between home games, Spoelstra led the HEAT to a perfect 3-0 home record and a 6-1 road record in February, with five of those road wins against current Western Conference playoff teams. Spoelstra’s defense held the opposition to under 50 percent shooting from the field in each of the 10 games in February, including under 40 percent in four of those contests. Over the last three seasons, he has led the HEAT to a 32-4 record during the month of February, including a perfect 15-0 at home.
Spoelstra recorded his 300th career coaching victory on February 23 vs. Chicago and in just his 448th career game, becoming the sixth-fastest head coach to earn his 300th victory in NBA history. He has now compiled a .671 (302-148) winning percentage, the highest in HEAT history, and his 302 career wins are the second-most in franchise history. Additionally, his .671 winning percentage ranks fifth all-time in NBA history with the league minimum 400 games coached during the regular season. Spoelstra has led Miami to a 42-14 record this season, tying for the franchise’s best record thru the first 56 games of a season, including a current league-longest seven-game winning streak.
Among league leaders, Miami currently ranks first in field goal percentage (.511), first in forced turnovers per game (17.2), second in steals per game (9.18), seventh in points allowed per game (98.1), eighth in points per game (104.4) and ninth in assists per game (23.3).