Lakers' LeBron James: Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra Should Get a Lot of Respect

Few people know how excellent Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra can be with a championship on the line better than LeBron James, who won two titles during his four-year stint in South Beach.

The Los Angeles Lakers star knows what he is going up against in this year's NBA Finals.

"There's this narrative that Spo is not great, and the narrative that he doesn't get a lot of respect, which he should," James said, per Mark Medina of USA Today. "He prepares his team every single night. If you watch the Miami Heat, no matter who's on the floor, they're going to play Heat culture. They're going to play hard. They're going to play together."

James continued, fighting against what he sees as a narrative knocking Spoelstra's coaching ability.

"That's what fuels Spo, is the disrespect that you guys give him, the basketball world," James said. "I'm not going to sit up here and act like I don't know what Spo is all about, because he's damned good, if not great because his preparation. He prepares like it's his last time ever coaching again every game."

While James seemed convinced the "basketball world" shows the Heat coach "disrespect," the opposite is closer to the truth.

Spoelstra is largely considered among the best coaches in the NBA. In June, Matt Dollinger of The Ringer listed him as the second-best coach in the league behind only Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors.

He figured out how to balance the star power of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh during four straight Finals runs from 2011 through 2014 and then reinvented the team after their departures.

Few saw Miami as a legitimate championship team this season, but Spoelstra maximized the combination of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and a deep and talented supporting cast, upsetting higher seeds in the Eastern Conference along the way.

Now Spoelstra will have a chance to stun his former star player and tie James with his third career ring in his current position.