"Heat culture or is it Spo culture?" - Former Warrior takes jab at Pat Riley's Heat legacy amid Erik Spoelstra's $120 million deal

The Miami Heat has announced that Erik Spoelstra has been given an eight-year, $120 million contract to stay with the franchise. Spoelstra has been with the team for quite a long time and has led the team to multiple chances of winning titles, even leading the team to back-to-back title wins.

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This led to former Golden State Warriors point guard, Gilbert Arenas to question the Heat culture. Miami's team has boasted their team's culture for quite a long time. The culture started when they won the title in 2006 when Shaquille O'Neal was traded from the LA Lakers to play with a young Dwyane Wade.

The culture wasn't emphasized during that time but was revived during LeBron James' four-year stay in South Beach. With Jimmy Butler's arrival in 2019, the Heat culture was promoted and it led to the team reaching the finals twice since then.

Throughout all that, the Heat has only had two coaches. These two men have led the franchise to the top but have also had different influences on the team, depending on the roster. Arenas gives his take on the two coach's polarizing influences.

"Is it Heat culture or is it Spo culture?" Arenas said. "Take Spo out of it. Heat culture started with Pat Riley, right?

"The f*** is his resume as a Heat guy? Lost every first round, didn't make the playoffs, went upstairs. Ran up stairs because they were sorry as f***.

"Spo, has put his own sauce, his own thing on what the culture is. So it's Spo culture."

Spo has evolved into one of the best coaches in the league. Ever since being named head coach in 2008, the Heat have not looked back and regretted their decision.

You might also be interested in reading this: "Got divorced before getting the bag": Heat fans point out Erik Spoelstra's divorce timeline after $120 million extension

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Comparing the coaching careers of Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley

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While both Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley have been influential coaches for the Heat, they've had different impacts during their time. Riley was named head coach of the team in 1995 and had several years of struggle. During that time, Miami was a new team in the league and struggled to recruit stars.

He left his coaching job in 2003 and focused on being the team's executive. Riley then returned as the team's head coach when Stan Van Gundy stepped down in the 2005-06 season. The team had O'Neal at the time and a young star in Wade, leading them to a title win against the Dallas Mavericks.

Two years later, he stepped down as head coach and Spoelstra became his successor. With Spo, the Heat reached the finals four years straight when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team. He won two titles with the team.

Now, with Butler and Bam Adebayo as his stars, the Heat have become an underrated threat in the East, often making trips to the conference finals and even reaching the NBA Finals twice.

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