Is This The Year Erik Spoelstra Finally Wins Coach Of The Year?

Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat has established himself as one of the top coaches in the NBA.

As the season approaches the All-Star Break, players and coaches are building their cases for regular-season honors. There is an argument to be made that no other coach has overcome more adversity than Spoelstra, who is deserving of the league's top coaching honor.

Despite all the injuries, the Heat have dealt with, they are still the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Victor Oladipo have all missed significant time, but Spoelstra has kept them at the top.

The performance is reminiscent of the Tennessee Titans in the NFL this season. They dealt with many injuries to their star players but still grabbed the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Even though the Titans lost in the second round, coach Mike Vrabel won the Coach of the Year Award despite a league record for injuries.

Former Heat player Dwyane Wade recently spoke about Spoelstra being named one of the 15 greatest NBA coaches of all time.

“I always say Pat Riley set the standard,” Wade said on NBA on TNT. “But Coach [Spoelstra] improved on it, and you really see his DNA inside the organization. Now it’s not just the Pat Riley show, it’s Erik Spoelstra. I’m just so proud of him because he’s consistent, he does it every day.”

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich also praised Spoelstra.

“[Spoelstra] is the real deal,” Popovich said. “Just a genuine human being who works his ass off.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant