Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-12 · by Tim Reynolds The Associated Press
Erik Spoelstra, entering his 19th season as head coach of the Miami Heat, delivered an inspiring speech before training camp that energized new player Klay Thompson. This past offseason saw significant roster changes, with players like Norman Powell and Tyler Herro leaving and Giannis Antetokounmpo joining. Spoelstra emphasizes a collective commitment to challenging goals, aiming for a special season despite recent playoff misses in 2024 and 2025 after reaching the NBA Finals in 2023.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
MIAMI (AP) — Klay Thompson didn’t sleep particularly well before his first training camp practice with the Miami Heat.
asserted
Thompson → sleep → Heat
And it was a good problem to have.
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it → have → ?
The Miami coach — entering his 19th season with the Heat, by far the longest current tenure of any coach in the NBA — always addresses his team on the night before the start of camp.
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coach → enter → camp
And what Spoelstra said in this season’s kickoff speech had Thompson so fired up that getting rest proved difficult, if not impossible.
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getting → say → rest
“He cares,” Thompson said.
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Thompson → care → ?
“And it’s good to be around a head coach who doesn’t mind to kind of get into you.
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who → ’ → you
He respects your work, but he also wants to get the most out of you.
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he → respect → you
And he doesn’t believe in ‘you’re past your prime’ or ‘your best years are behind you.’
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years → believe → you
He believes that you can still be effective at any stage you want — as long as you’re willing to work.”
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you → believe → stage
That part, the commitment to the work, never changes.
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part → change → work
But a run to the NBA Finals in 2023 was followed up by first-round exits in 2024 and 2025.
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run → follow → 2024
And last season, when Miami wildly changed its offense but didn’t have anywhere near enough chemistry, the playoffs were missed entirely.
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playoffs → change → chemistry
So, change did happen.
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change → happen → ?
Norman Powell, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware — four of last season’s top seven overall scorers for Miami — are gone, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bobby Portis and Thompson in their place.
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Powell → go → place
And based on early returns, it’s easy to see why Spoelstra is firing people up when he talks about this season.
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he → base → season
“We all know what we’re here for,” Spoelstra said.
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Spoelstra → know → what
“Everybody understands what they’re signing up for.
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they → understand → what
There’s more an excitement about trying to commit to doing something collectively that’s really hard to do and hopefully ends in something so special at the end of the year.
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that → ’ → year
“You want to have that feeling as a coaching staff and as a front office, you also want the players to have the same type of feeling,” he added.
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he → want → feeling
“And it’s early right now, but it just feels like those things are aligned.”
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things → ’ → ?
Spoelstra’s story is well-known.
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story → know → ?
He grew up in Oregon and idolized Jack Ramsay among others, played college basketball, was in the game when Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers tragically died, got hired in the Heat video room before team president Pat Riley even came to Miami to coach, eventually became an assistant under Riley and then was the hand-picked successor to become head coach when Riley retired in 2008.
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Riley → grow → 2008
In 2027, he’ll coach the U.S. team at the Basketball World Cup and in 2028 he’ll lead the American men into the Los Angeles Olympics.
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he → coach → Olympics
He’ll be in the Hall of Fame one day and it’s easy to see why.
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it → ’ → Fame
In 18 seasons under Spoelstra, the Heat have finished below the .500 mark only three times.
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Heat → finish → mark
He’s taken six teams to the NBA Finals, the first four of those when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh formed a Big Three in Miami.
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James → take → Miami
“I can guarantee you that Erik Spoelstra is going to be motivated going into this year,” Bosh said.
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Bosh → guarantee → year
“He’s going to have a plan.
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He → go → plan
They’re going to score a lot of points.
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They → go → points
And I think Giannis will love playing that way.”
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Giannis → think → ?
With Antetokounmpo now playing alongside Bam Adebayo, longtime NBA coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Doc Rivers — who coached Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee — sees parallels between the James-Wade-Bosh era of Heat basketball and what’s possible in this one.
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what → play → one
“I look at Miami and I look at Spo and Bam and Giannis, I mean, that’s a hell of a Big Three,” Rivers said.
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Rivers → look → Three
“Anybody can go get the stars.
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Anybody → go → stars
The key — great organizations know this, and Miami is one of those — is figuring out how to build around them when your resources are lacking.
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resources → know → them
Every person you sign has to be the right person.
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you → sign → ?
And if I was going to pick anybody to do that, Pat Riley and Spo would be at the top of the list.”
Most decisions have to be right as well, and the one with the offense that Spoelstra made a year ago might pay huge dividends now.
uncertain
Spoelstra → go → dividends
Miami started playing very fast, shooting earlier in the shot clock, trying to get the ball over halfcourt in a couple seconds, putting constant pressure on defenses.
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Miami → start → defenses
It seems tailor-made to fit Antetokounmpo’s game.
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It → seem → game
“When you have a coach like Erik Spoelstra, it makes the job much easier,” Antetokounmpo said.
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Antetokounmpo → have → Spoelstra
“You know that you’re going to be in the right places and you’re going to be successful when you play.”
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you → know → places
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
