Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and his wife, Nikki welcomed their third child into the world on Tuesday.
Nikki revealed the name of their first daughter on an Instagram post, captioned, “Ruby Grace + so much Love. Welcome to the world, my girl”. In her post, she is accompanied in the hospital by Erik and their two sons, Santiago and Dante.
“Best of all worlds”
With the birth of his third child, the Filipino-American coach missed a few days with the team. In effect, he was unable to attend their media day and missed the first day of the team’s training camp.
But by Wednesday, he was back with his other family—the Heat family.
“I spent a lot of time with the family the last couple of days,” Spoelstra told Sports Ilustrated. “And then able to take a flight here and spend today with my Heat family, it’s the best of all worlds. I appreciate everything. And both mommy and daughter are doing great.”
Spoelstra is indeed a family man, for his wife and kids as well as his team. And having to juggle both must not have always been easy for the coach throughout the offseason.
A hectic offseason
While the couple was expecting their third child, last July, Erik Spoelstra and his wife opened up about their four-year-old son’s cancer remission.
Nikki posted a very personal story about their son, Santiago on Instagram and his journey with cancer.
“The day after his fourth birthday, our son went in for an unexpected surgery. Intussusception,” she wrote in her caption. “One week later, he was diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma. In the days, weeks, and months that followed… he endured (and thrived through) Chemotherapy.“
But, posted on July 23, the couple was happy to share that “our big boy got to ring the bell in the cancer wing at Nicklaus, and the gratitude I feel is overwhelming. REMISSION.”
Undoubtedly, it must have been an especially hectic offseason for Erik Spoelstra. But, as present with his team as we see him on screen, he has supported his family through the hardships.
Now, with his daughter Ruby Grace in the world, we know that Erik will definitely make for a great girl dad. And, as he is about to enter another NBA season as Miami Heat’s head coach, he will now have four family members cheering him on.