Erik Spoelstra as Gilas Head Coach: What If?

The recently-concluded National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals saw Filipino fans being divided into two groups: one being the fans of the newly-crowned champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the other one being the ones who rooted for Coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat due to Spoelstra being a Filipino-American. While the mighty Lakers have won this season's NBA championship as many expected them to do, the fact that Miami was able to get two wins in the Finals says something about the competitiveness of the Heat not just because they were led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo but because of the culture and the work ethics that Spoelstra and company instilled on the team. 

Now that the NBA Finals is over and so is the 2019-2020 NBA season, the question that is being asked: What's next for Erik Spoelstra?

For starters, he already shut down the possibility of him being at the helm of Gilas Pilipinas in an online press conference inside the NBA bubble in Orlando as he said "I don't think that's realistic for this period of time in my life," Being a Filipino father, he added, "I have two young sons and that, summertime is extremely valuable. I don't want to miss out on those moments,"  

With that being said, Gilas Pilipinas can now put that dream of having Erik Spoelstra at the helm on the side for now but one cannot help but ask the question: what if Erik Spoelstra does coach the Philippine team?

Let's start with the obvious: Erik Spoelstra is the second-longest tenured head coach in the NBA and has already been recognized as one of the best coaches in the league. His incredible coaching in the NBA, particularly while inside the Orlando bubble could be valuable to our national team. He could help improve Gilas Pilipinas' status as one of the powerhouse teams in Asia. If provided with the players that can run his system, Spoelstra could also change the culture with Gilas the same way he does with the Heat. Then again, it all depends on the availability of the players and more importantly, if Miami and the NBA will allow Spoelstra to coach Gilas Pilipinas.

While the possibility has been shut down by Spoelstra himself, the answer to this "what if" question is something that nobody knows the answer to. Then again, having an experienced NBA coach who has three NBA championships under his belt- one as an assistant coach and back-to-back titles as head coach in 2012 to 2013, could do wonders for the national team. Just imagine the knowledge he could share and the culture he could instill to the team. It's almost an impossible possibility but who knows?    

Photo is from Miami Herald