Brian Windhorst

And Pat Riley said, yeah, I'm the boss here, not you.

Yeah.

And that decision, I remember this vividly.

I mean, we're far afield here, Tony, but I remember this vividly.

I thought there was going to be a day or two where I was like, the Spolster's not going to survive this.

He'll be fired in the next 48 hours because I had just seen this, and Spolster was in his second year as coach.

We didn't know much about Eric Spolster at the time.

And I remember him arriving to speak to the media defiantly

Almost like he was an inch taller.

He was so defiant.

And I remember thinking, boy, he really has the backing of management.

It turned out, I mean, the story has been told for years that Riley and Spolstra both told LeBron, it ain't happening, buddy.

And I think it set the stage for the success of that season.

It set the stage for Spolstra's success of his career, quite frankly.

And that's rare.

That's very rare that you stand up to a star player.

But the situation in Miami is unique.

Yeah, it is.

I don't know if I should pull back the curtain here.

It is 5 a.m.