Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t always agree with David Fizdale’s suggestions and he joked that he threw him out of his office many times when the two worked together. But Spoelstra always appreciated Fizdale’s mind, viewpoint, and ability to challenge him.
Spoelstra is widely considered one of the NBA’s best coaches. He wouldn’t be if not for Fizdale’s influence.
“Fiz definitely made me better,” Spoelstra said during a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “We had some epic, legendary fights. We would challenge each other all the time. Fiz was not afraid to share his opinion. I wanted him to challenge me, question things, make me look at things in a different lens.