Why doesn’t Erik Spoelstra use his challenges?
I get asked that question often, and the Miami Heat coach has indeed opted – head-scratchingly so – to eschew a coach’s challenge in critical moments that could have swung a game or two.
My answers through the season have varied from, “Well, maybe he didn’t see it the way we saw it on TV” to “He is taking a stand against the coach’s challenge.”
Well, it turns out that Spoelstra just hates challenges. Everything about them.
While coaches in Minnesota, Utah and Brooklyn have used more than 30 challenges this season, Spoelstra has used by far the fewest challenges in the league. Just 10, according to data gathered by Sporting News.
How good is every coach at using challenges? Here's what the data says. pic.twitter.com/Sqw9crdFWG
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) February 26, 2025
"I know our numbers are lower than other teams," Spoelstra said. "Every call is like (twirling finger to mimic a challenge). I understand the competition committee adding this, but I think it also just looks ridiculous every single play. The players are looking at the bench (making the challenge motion). It's distracting."
You can almost see Spoelstra rolling his eyes when reading that quote.
What’s maddening is that Spoelstra’s success rate (70%) ranks near the top of the league. Maybe that’s because he only uses the challenge when he’s absolutely sure, but even that reasoning would suggest he has an eye for when the call will go his way.
But Spo has taken a stand. He hates the challenge, the way it looks, the twirling of the finger, the way players across the league constantly ask the bench to challenge every foul and out-of-bounds call. Spoelstra has made a decision not to be a part of it, and won’t tolerate it from his players either. According to Spo’s math, the lack of distraction throughout the game outweighs the use of getting one call reversed.
I’m not sure that logic holds up. Implementing a team-wide rule that players won’t ask for challenges and coaches won’t use them for the first three-plus quarters would make sense. That would eliminate the “distraction” for most of the game while maintaining the use of the challenge for the game’s most important moments. If Spoelstra never uses a challenge in the first three quarters, players will know not to bother to twirl their finger at him.
But treating the challenge as persona non grata in the final minutes when one call could change the outcome of a game? That makes less sense. It’s also wasting a resource and putting his team at a disadvantage on a nightly basis.
And here’s the thing: This is exactly how Spoelstra used to approach the coach’s challenge. In past seasons, Spoelstra had an established reputation for never using his challenges early. When asked, he would say he prefers to keep them for important calls in crunch time. So, what changed for Spoelstra to pivot from a pragmatic strategy to taking an ideological stand?
Look, I also hate the coach’s challenge. It slows the game down and I have yet to see any evidence that it would materially change the outcome of a season. I think the NBA should get rid of it. But it’s here. And while it’s here, Spoelstra might as well use it.