RON ROTHSTEIN
TV Studio And Radio Analyst
With a resume highlighted by over 50 years in the game, Ron Rothstein brings a wealth of knowledge to the HEAT broadcast team. For the ninth consecutive season he will appear in the studio for all home games broadcast on Bally Sports Sun. The 2022-23 season marks Rothstein’s 43rd in professional basketball. Beginning as a regional scout in 1979, he has served as a head coach twice in the NBA, as an assistant coach with five franchises, as a regional scout with three teams and has also spent nine seasons as a broadcast analyst. During his 26 years on an NBA bench, his teams made 18 postseason appearances, highlighted by three NBA championships, nine conference finals appearances, six conference championships, six NBA Finals appearances and nine divisional championships.
Rothstein’s ties to the HEAT organization run deep and began on July 12, 1988 when he was named Miami’s first head coach. He guided the HEAT through its first three seasons, increasing the team’s victory total each year. He also served as general manager and head coach of the WNBA’s Miami SOL during its three-year history (2000-02) and had a 10-year run as an assistant coach for the HEAT before retiring from coaching after the 2013-14 season.
Rothstein began his NBA career in 1979 as a regional scout for the Atlanta Hawks before accepting a similar position with the New York Knicks in 1982. He got his first NBA coaching opportunity as an assistant with the Hawks in 1983. After spending three years on the Hawks bench, Rothstein joined the Detroit coaching staff as an assistant in 1986 where he was credited with establishing the defensive mindset and principals that helped the Pistons reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 1987 and the NBA Finals in 1988. After his first stint with the HEAT, Rothstein returned to Detroit for two seasons, first as a TV/radio analyst and scout, then as the club’s head coach for the 1992-93 season. In 1993, Rothstein became an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he spent six seasons before making his return to South Florida to guide the SOL.
In 22 seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA, Rothstein who received the Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award from the National Basketball Coaches Association in 2017, played a key role in his teams compiling a 1,023-732 (.583) regular season record and a 132-91 (.592) postseason mark. During his 26 seasons in the NBA he coached in a combined 2,306 games as either a head or assistant coach. On June 2, 2011, in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, he reached a personal milestone when he coached in his 2,000th NBA game.
Prior to joining the pro ranks, Rothstein enjoyed a successful coaching career at the collegiate and high school levels. He served as an assistant coach at Upsala College from 1974-75 and was selected the Westchester County Coach of the Year in 1979 while at Eastchester High School in New York.
Rothstein was a three-year starter on the University of Rhode Island basketball team and was captain of the 1963-64 squad. After graduating from URI in 1964, Rothstein earned a master’s degree from Hunter College. He was inducted into the University of Rhode Island Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and in 2010 he received the Ram Legend award. Additionally, he was inducted into the Miami Sports Hall of Champions in 2005 and the Westchester County (NY) Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
Rothstein and his wife of 56 years, Olivia, reside in Miami and have two children. Their son David, lives in Miami with his wife, Patty, and their children, Aidan and Ava. Their daughter, Dana, also lives in Miami with her husband, Greg Brenner, and their children, Lucas and Hailey.