Erik Spoelstra names European coach who inspired him / News - Basketnews.com

Spoelstra drew inspiration from Svetislav Pesic, who he played against when starting his career as a coach in Germany in the 90s. The current Heat coach said he had great respect for the current Serbian NT specialist.

Credit: AP Photo/Adam Hunger - Scanpix Credit AP Photo/Adam Hunger - Scanpix

Erik Spoelstra has garnered the reputation of being one of the best coaches in the NBA. The Miami Heat's specialist drew some inspiration for his coaching work from Europe.

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After Wednesday night's loss to the Toronto Raptors, Spoelstra was asked by Toni Canyameras from Mundo Deportivo if any European coaches influenced him throughout his career. Spoelstra didn't hesitate.

"[Svetislav] Pesic. He was of ALBA Berlin when I was in Germany playing. We played against his teams, and I was a fan of his then. I'm still a fan of his, and deep respect for him now," he said.

Before coming to the NBA circles, Spoelstra was a player in Germany for TuS Herten in 1993-95. At the same time, Pesic, who is now the head coach of the Serbian national team, was leading ALBA Berlin, a team he coached up until 2000.

Spoelstra spent two years as an assistant coach at Herten while playing simultaneously and competed against Pesic's ALBA multiple times.

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