Ira Winderman: Spoelstra living in his Heat moment, but Olympic role remains ever-present

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jan 26, 2026

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PHOENIX — For some, it’s reminiscing. For others, it’s preparation. And for the next generation, it potentially is an audition.

Because for as much as Erik Spoelstra perseveres in his day job as coach of the Miami Heat, this also is his first tour through the NBA as the next Team USA Olympic coach, named to that post in October.

So the last time the Heat were in Boston, Spoelstra took a few postgame minutes with Jayson Tatum, having worked with Tatum as a USA Basketball assistant during the run to 2024 Olympic gold in Paris.

Sunday, it meant an opportunity to cross paths with Devin Booker, another member of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games.

And along the way, there are potential hopefuls seeking the opportunity to play under Spoelstra at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, or a year before at the 2027 World Cup in Qatar, with Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George such an example on Saturday night at Delta Center, when he scored 19 in the Jazz’s 147-116 loss to the Heat, with George already a part of USA Basketball as a participant on the organization’s 3X3 World Cup team.

For now, Spoelstra is low-keying the process, hardly surprising for a coach who prioritizes minimizing outside distractions.

“With JT, I just bumped into him and really just was trying to offer words of encouragement through his process of getting back,” Spoelstra said of Tatum’s push back from tearing his Achilles in the playoffs. “That was really it.

“The guys that I’ve developed relationships with from the last couple tours, those are the guys I’ve just been saying hello to.”

And there are many, since Spoelstra not only served under Steve Kerr as an Olympics assistant in 2024, but also worked under Kerr with Team USA and the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines.

So Sunday, it was the opportunity to cross paths with Booker, the sidelined Suns guard.

“You develop quality relationships during those experiences,” Spoelstra said ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Suns at the close of the Heat’s five-game western swing. “And when you have an opportunity to say hello, certainly I do that.”

Then there are those with the dream of becoming part of Team USA. Ja Morant, who has surfaced as a potential Heat trade target, has been linked with such interest. With the Los Angeles Games two years away, others figure to try to bend Spoelstra’s ear, catch his eye.

“There’s still time, so I haven’t really sensed anybody lobbying,” Spoelstra said. “I haven’t talked to any potential guys yet.”

Spoelstra said the natural scouting process of the NBA season provides the means to stay current with the possibilities for his Olympic roster, one expected to again include Heat center Bam Adebayo.

“But, again, we have time to dive into the personnel a lot more deeper, probably starting this summer,” he said. “But we watch a lot of film in this league, so it keeps you up to date.”

Along the way, when asked this season of his eventual Olympic job, Spoelstra had made clear that USA basketball managing director Grant Hill and team director Sean Ford are keeping him up to speed, while also respectful of his day job.

“Right now, there’s not a whole lot of action going on,” Spoelstra said. “I’ve kept in touch with both Grant Hill and Sean Ford, and we met up probably two months ago. But it was more general talks of two summers from now and scheduling, and what that’ll look like. We’ll probably get together in some fashion this summer for a little bit more extended time. I don’t know if we’ll do anything with players, but certainly we’ll meet.

“I love the whole process, so of course when we play and compete against teams, there’s players that will come to mind. But I’m not sweating that right now. That’s really for Grant. It’ll be a collaborative effort. But there’s plenty of time for that.”

As for the passing of the torch, that essentially has formally been completed with the Heat’s two-game season series against Kerr and the Golden State Warriors concluded at the start of the five-game trip.

“I don’t need to tell him anything, because Spo is an incredible coach,” Kerr said of his successor. “He’s had a couple of years now in USA Basketball at the World Cup and the Olympics, so he knows what it’s about. And he’s got a great relationship with Sean Ford and Grant Hill. So he was a great choice.

“He’s one of the greatest coaches of all time — great awareness of what FIBA is about, the difference between coaching a team for seven weeks and coaching one for nine months. All of that stuff, he’s got his finger on the pulse of it all. And he’s going to be great.”

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