Erik Spoelstra has been getting some emphatic endorsement recently for coach of the year.

On Saturday, Dwyane Wade, who worked with Spoelstra on 2 championships for the Miami Heat, said the attention Spoelstra is receiving is long overdue.

“I think this year probably opened a lot of eyes to his and his staff’s coaching ability,” Wade said. “What that team has been able to accomplish is incredible, the way they continue to keep winning.”

On Thursday, Heat president Pat Riley praised his protégé for whipping up a playoff-worthy team despite a lack of star power on its roster.

“There’s always challenges when you have great teams that are supposed to win. Everybody thinks that’s an easy ride. It may even be more of a difficult ride with all the things going on behind the scenes and dealing with superstars. And then there’s this kind of challenge in which I think he’s handled with great experience and by staying the course,” Riley said.

“He has become his own man.”

The Heat were 11-30 halfway through the season and seemed ready to call it a year with an eye at drafting high in the lottery before something unexpected happened.

They won 13 straight, which remains a season-high. They have compiled an overall record of 21-5 since their mediocre start, the best record in that span in the entire league equaled only by the San Antonio Spurs.

Miami is currently within half a game of the 8th seed in the East and a game-and-a-half of the 7th.

Spoelstra won Eastern Conference coach of the month for leading the Heat to an 8-3 record in February. On Saturday (Sunday, Manila time), he hiked his all-time wins total to 431 to climb up to 38th in the list.

At the height of the streak, ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe wrote: “The Heat mean something again. They stand for something. Other players around the league notice how hard and smart Erik Spoelstra has this team playing. They respect it.”

So now the question is: does Spoelstra deserve to take home the Red Auerbach trophy?

If the Heat manage to sneak in the playoffs, there’s no question Spoelstra, a 2-time champion who hasn't won top coaching honors, should get it.

He’s working with an All-Star less crew that took a massive roster hit over the summer when it lost two remnants from its championship years (Chris Bosh to health reasons and Wade to free agency) and toiled through injury issues mid-season (prized sophomore Justise Winslow being the most significant loss), while missing out on star free agents. For what it’s worth, Spoelstra’s former top assistant, David Fizdale, also left in the offseason to coach the Memphis Grizzlies.

Reaching the postseason is key, because Spoelstra is up against a tough field.

Gregg Popovich has the San Antonio Spurs competing for the best record in the post-Tim Duncan era. The Boston Celtics’ Brad Stevens and the Washington Wizards’ Scott Brooks have their respective teams contending for the top seed in the East. Mike D’Antoni has revived the Houston Rockets.

Those aforementioned coaches look to go deep in the playoffs, thanks to MVP-level stars.

If the Heat are able to sustain their current run and qualify for the postseason with their ragtag cast, it’s a testament to Spoelstra’s brilliance as a tactician, player developer and motivator all rolled into one.

“He deserves all the credit that he’s getting right now but he’s not liking it,” Riley said.

“He just wants to keep working and get this thing to where it should get to before you start patting people on the back and then sometime in April something might go the other way. Let’s finish the job and that’s what he’s about.”

— Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.com

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