Erik Spoelstra was hosting a clinic in the Philippines, his mother’s homeland, this past summer while the Miami Heat coach was there as an assistant with USA Basketball for the World Cup. A few dozen kids finished the workout, then got to ask him whatever they wanted.

One asked about his longevity with the Heat. Over the next few minutes, Spoelstra talked about friendships, loyalty and how fortunate he is that the Heat — the team he’s been with for almost 30 years — value stability.

The latest reminder of all that came Tuesday with Miami signing Spoelstra to a history-making deal spanning eight years and worth roughly $120 million, the biggest contract in terms of total salary ever given to an NBA coach and one that illustrates how vital the Heat believe he is to the operation.

“Pat Riley is a legend in the game,” Spoelstra told those kids in Manila, speaking of his longtime boss and the Heat president. “And he believes in loyalty. I probably would have been fired a few times with another organization. So, I’m very grateful for that. We’ve tried to build a culture of family and a culture where we trust each other, where we’re sacrificing for each other and where we’re serving each other.”

The formula obviously works. Spoelstra guided Heat teams to the playoffs in 12 of his first 15 seasons as coach, getting to the NBA Finals six times — including last season — and winning championships in 2012 and 2013 with teams led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Only San Antonio and Boston have won more regular-season games than Miami has since Spoelstra took over for Riley in 2008, and no team in that span has won more playoff games than the Heat. Spoelstra is 19th all-time in regular-season victories (725 entering Wednesday) and fifth all-time in playoff victories (109, not counting a play-in tournament game win last season as well). He’ll be an assistant on Steve Kerr’s USA Basketball staff that will try to win Olympic gold in Paris this summer and is widely expected to be a top candidate when it’s time for the Americans to pick a head coach for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“Worth Every Single Cent of that contract!!!” James tweeted on Tuesday.

Wade offered a similar sentiment: “Spo!!!!!!!!! Earned!” he wrote, with eight moneybag emojis in there as well.

Spoelstra’s contract was ending after this season, which isn’t a good sign in most places. But in Miami, that doesn’t mean anything. Contracts for coaches and executives within the organization are hardly ever announced; it’s just assumed that everybody stays put year after year.

Spoelstra — whose father, Jon Spoelstra, was an NBA executive with Portland, Denver and New Jersey — was a standout high school guard in Oregon, then played at the University of Portland, where he was the West Coast Conference’s freshman of the year. After college, he spent two years playing professionally in Germany, before the Heat called with their offer to work at the lowest rung of the organization.

He was 24 then. He’s 53 now, his well-chronicled path starting in the video room (Riley didn’t know his name at first) to scout to assistant coach to head coach to champion and, surely, a Hall of Famer one day.

Signing him for eight more years is just another sign of Miami’s stability.

Spoelstra starts each day with some quiet meditation, then ends each day by jotting a few notes in a gratitude journal. There’s much to be grateful for, he’s found, and much of it goes back to the loyalty that is part of the Heat organizational fabric.

Not bad for a guy who, in his own words, didn’t know much of anything when he got that video room job in 1995.

“When you are able to accomplish the ultimate goal and compete for a title and win a title, you end up having these lifelong friends and lifelong relationships that transcend just this game,” Spoelstra said. “To this day I know that I can text or call somebody from those teams on their birthdays. I know on my birthday, I’m getting texts and calls from them. Things like that make this profession really special.”

Clippers sign Leonard to extension

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension, the team said Wednesday.

The team did not reveal the worth or length of the deal.

Leonard was in the third year of a four-year deal he signed in 2021 that calls for him to earn a base salary of $45,640,084 this season. He had a player option for next season at $48,787,676.

Leonard is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season. The 32-year-old forward has been in good health, playing in 32 of 36 games so far. He recently returned after missing four games with a hip injury.

James inks card deal with Fanatics

LeBron James and his son, Bronny, will appear together on a unique sports trading card to herald the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s new multiyear partnership with Fanatics.

The top scorer in NBA history has signed with Fanatics Collectibles, the trading card division of the online sports retailer. Neither side disclosed the terms of the deal announced Wednesday.

James had been partnered with Upper Deck since 2003 in the sports memorabilia sector. He famously earned his first million by signing with Upper Deck two weeks before he graduated from high school and a few more weeks before he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James and Bronny will appear together on a special card available Jan. 19 in the 2023-24 Bowman University Chrome Basketball set. LeBron will wear his high school uniform from St. Vincent St. Mary’s in Akron, Ohio, while Bronny will be in his current USC Trojans uniform.

The 100-player set also will include All-Americans Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.