2023 NBA Finals: Erik Spoelstra Hits All-Time Great Status Despite Finals Loss

The Miami Heat's Cinderella story ended as all fairytales do when juxtaposed to the real world.

While they did not hoist the 2023 NBA Championship, head coach Erik Spoelstra has built himself a resume that will stand the test of time.

Spoelstra's story has been well-documented at this point and his rise to being one of the elite coaches in the NBA is as formidable as anyone's.

Prior to the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, Spoelstra's Heat, now bannered by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, were given plus-600 odds to come out of the East as the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets were all placed ahead of them by oddsmakers.

As the season progressed, that number fluctuated thanks to stop-and-go starts to the season and went as high as plus-4000 on April 1 and reached its peak of plus-6000 prior to their first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks after securing the eighth-seed via the play-in tournament.

To beat the 2021 NBA Champions was a Herculean task in and of itself thanks to the Giannis Antetokounmpo factor, but the vaunted "Heat Culture" broke through and pulled off the biggest shocker of the season as they booted them in five games–something that they did in their six-game series win over the New York Knicks.

Against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Spoelstra and the Heat rushed out to an improbable 3-0 lead and were on the cusp of a sweep, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had a lot to say in the following three games, eventually forcing a Game 7 where Caleb Martin's 26-point outburst prevented a historical defeat.

The Denver Nuggets provided them with their toughest challenge yet, but the Heat were more than ready to take it despite not having the services of Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro who both suffered injuries in the Bucks series.

Game 1 turned out as expected for many viewers as the Heat incurred an 11-point rout, but Game 2 had them seeing light at the end of the tunnel thanks to Duncan Robinson's heroics in the fourth quarter.

But the Nuggets were simply too talented for the Heat and gave them double-digit beatdowns in Games 3 and 4 before fighting out a come-from-behind win in Game 5 to secure their first NBA Championship.

The Heat were not supposed to be in this spot in the first place. While they were severely underhanded compared to the rest of the Eastern Conference, Spoelstra's way of getting through to his players is certainly the stuff of legends.

While the term "Heat Culture," a system headed by Riley and Spoelstra, still has no official definition, it can be best understood by a quote from a 2012 movie starring Kevin Durant: "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard."

Spoelstra's current contract runs through the 2023-24 season, and after NBA insiders noted how he could command upwards of $20 million this season, keeping him in "The 305" at all costs is certainly their first order of business.