Undaunted by fire, Spoelstra coaches. And his players marvel

On Thursday morning, before darkness had lifted, Erik Spoelstra pulled up to his home and watched it burn to the ground, as firefighters fruitlessly fought for eight hours to try to save it.

On Friday, the Heat coach returned to his sanctuary -- the Kaseya Center court -- and comported himself in a way that left his players inspired.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he repeatedly conveyed gratitude, to everyone who had reached out to help, and to the firefighters and first responders who worked valiantly after the inferno erupted at his home just outside Coral Gables.

Instead of arriving melancholy and morose, he entered the locker room with a smile and his typically irrepressible optimism and resilience.

Instead of looking dazed and shaken at his pre-game media session, he sat smiling alongside his three children and cracked: ”The kids wanted to come to the game. So I figured if they wanted to come to the game, I better work.”

And work he did, watching his team produce the most points by the Heat ever in a single quarter (53 in the first), survive a 27-2 Charlotte second-quarter run and take control late in a 126-108 win that left the Heat at 5-4 entering Saturday night’s home game against Portland.

“There are a lot of emotions,” Spoelstra said afterward. “I’m human like anybody. I’ve been so busy managing everything with my kids and preparing for the game. After the game, I just want to go home.”

His players marveled that he even came to the game.

“I want to say how inspiring it was to see him be out there,” said forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who delivered 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds before leaving late with a sprained ankle.

“You would have never known anything tragic happened. First thing he said was he appreciates all the [well] wishes. The most important thing is his kids and family were all OK.

“The fact he came here with a smile on his face, excited to coach us, as if nothing happened, goes to show what kind of person he is. We really wanted to get that win for him.”

Nikola Jovic said that Spoelstra “didn’t want to talk a lot about [the fire]. He was trying to lock in and help us win this game, which is incredible.”

Forward Simone Fontecchio said the players “were surprised he was willing to coach today.

“We’re like: ‘He should take one off.’ He’s always trying to stay resilient and positive. It’s pretty amazing. He said, ‘I would rather be out here with you guys. My kids wanted to come to the game so I might as well be on the bench with you.’”

Spoelstra’s uplifting approach was very much in character.

“I texted him [Thursday] and said, ‘I can’t even imagine what you’re going through – coming home after a long road trip and basically not finding your house,’” Fontecchio said. “It’s unbelievable. He’s got a great spirit, always positive, always trying to uplift everybody. He’s an amazing human being. He has this way to respond to whatever happens in life; it’s definitely something special.”

During his routine pre-game session with reporters Friday, Spoelstra brought his sons Santiago and Dante and his daughter Ruby to the dais and expressed relief that nobody was injured in the blaze. (His three children and family dog were not home at the time.)

Spoelstra said when he drove up to his home, as it was engulfed in flames after the team landed on a chartered flight from Denver in the early morning hours on Wednesday, there was actually some element of relief because he knew his three children “were all with their mother and everybody was safe. It was just a matter of material things. You can get over that.”

Spoelstra expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of support from everyone with the Heat (he mentioned owner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, president Pat Riley and general manager Andy Elisburg), his players and team staff.

“I’ve heard from everybody in the NBA community, other sports, friends from all over the world,” he said. “I just want to thank everybody for their overwhelming support. The South Florida community, the NBA community, the schooling community have been amazing.

“My emails and text messages have been flooded. It definitely is odd and strange to go through something like this with your family, and basically have everybody know about it.”

He acknowledged losing a home “is something that has been uniquely challenging for our family,... affects our family in a big way. But the Spoelstras are resilient.”

He said “things in the house, those things can be replaced. If they cannot be replaced, what does it really matter? This really is what matters, our family. We’re grateful everyone is safe.”

Spoelstra, in his 18th season as the Heat’s coach, said he also “wants to give a shout out to first responders, police officers, firemen. They weren’t able to save our house [but saved] the rest of the neighborhood. They were very kind while they were trying to put out all the flames.”

Heat management asked him if he needed a few days off, but he declined.

Spoelstra said going to work on Friday helped him “compartmentalize. I’m appreciative of the routine. The routine has been good.”

Turning to his children beside him on the podium, he said players and their wives and girlfriends are “organizing to get you guys some surprises.” When one of his children adorably asked the nature of the surprises, he said “possibly some toys we lost in the house.”

The fire at Spoelstra’s 5,700-square-foot residence on Southwest 80th Street burned for nearly eight hours before firefighters could fully extinguish it. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said the sprawling property — which featured a pool, tennis court and dense tree coverage — was difficult to access.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Victoria Byrd said the blaze was challenging to reach because of heavy foliage and a privacy wall leaving firefighters with only one entry point.

The two-alarm blaze was first reported by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who happened to be driving in the area around 4:30 a.m., according to the calls. Spoelstra and team landed in Miami, on their flight from Denver, at 5:03 a.m. and Spoelstra rushed to his home.

Videos taken at the scene show Spoelstra standing near the fire, visibly distressed, as firefighters worked to contain the inferno. Dispatch audio obtained by the Miami Herald from the early moments of the response revealed the firefighters’ struggle to generate the water supply needed to get the blaze under control. “

Firefighters also reported seeing ruptured gas lines on the property, including one that was on fire. An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing.

This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 11:16 AM.

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