Some athletes use summer leagues as a platform to play their first professional minutes. For others, it’s a chance to demonstrate that they merit a spot on the NBA squad after spending the previous several seasons competing in the G League or abroad. It’s also an opportunity for a few experienced but still-developing NBA players to acquire game repetitions during the offseason.
Summer league has offered Miami Heat coach Dan Bisaccio a new kind of chance.
The affable Bisaccio, who has worked with the Heat for the previous ten seasons after originally joining the team as a video intern for the 2014–15 season, declared, “This is my first official head coaching job.”
The last three weeks have been spent by Bisaccio, 34, as the Heat’s summer league head coach. He was a player development coach for the Heat during the previous season.
The Heat’s G League affiliate’s head coach, Bisaccio, recently remarked, “I’ve been a part of a variety of different coaches and different summer leagues—Dan Craig, Juwan Howard, Chris Quinn, Malik Allen, and most recently Caron Butler.” “I’ve had the chance to watch these guys’ daily lives in action and learn from them all as I’ve grown.”
“I take seriously the responsibility they have given me to introduce many of these guys to the Miami Heat organization and culture for the first time. Every day I feel privileged to have this chance.
Heat defeats Warriors to go to the Las Vegas Summer League final game.
By taking full advantage of the chance, Bisaccio has helped the Heat advance to the Las Vegas Summer League final game. On Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV, the Heat and the Memphis Grizzlies will compete for the Las Vegas Summer League championship (8 p.m., ESPN).
After defeating the Golden State Warriors in the semifinals on Sunday, the Heat—who now have a perfect record of 5-0 on the Las Vegas circuit that comprises all 30 NBA teams—securing their place in the Las Vegas Summer League title game. Since Las Vegas started selecting a champion in 2013, this is the first time the Heat have advanced to the summer league championship game.
“As a head coach, I don’t really look at it for myself, like, ‘Hey, this is great, we need to make that,'” Regarding the potential to lead the Heat to their first Las Vegas Summer League championship, Bisaccio stated. “There are a ton of individuals working on this procedure. Putting this squad together has been such a fantastic job by our front office. They are excellent, competitive basketball players in addition to being wonderful individuals. They labor hard and collaboratively.
“And then our staff, which consists of players from both the Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, I’ve been genuinely spoiled with.” I give [coaches] Kasib Powell and Wayne Ellington credit for helping me stay sane at times, providing the enthusiasm, and being so eager to give of themselves and assist in any way. Our coaches, Chris Quinn, Eric Glass, Malik Allen, and of course [Erik Spoelstra], who aren’t even here, are also always in my ear telling me stuff like, “Hey, this is great, I love what you’re doing.” We have a very large support system, for which I am very grateful.
The triumph in the summer league this year is only a portion of Bisaccio’s basketball history.
Playing the sport since childhood, Bisaccio even went on to play in college, starting as a 6-foot-4 forward at upstate New York’s Clarkson University before deciding he wanted to become a coach.
“I kind of thought, well, I would love to coach at the highest level and coach the best players in the world if I’m not going to be good enough to play in the NBA,” Bisaccio remarked.
As a result, Vermont native Bisaccio transferred to Boston’s Emerson College, another Division III institution. For Emerson in the 2011–12 campaign, Bisaccio averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in 24 games.
However, Bisaccio wasn’t playing at Emerson to go to the professional ranks. Instead, he was there to learn from a basketball program that had already turned out a number of NBA luminaries, including current general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder Sam Presti, former general manager of the Orlando Magic and current vice president of basketball operations for the Thunder Rob Hennigan, and current general manager of the Washington Wizards Will Dawkins.
Emerson is a minor Division III university, according to Bisaccio. “You blink and go by the university as you drive by. The best part, though, is that this university has a fantastic NBA pipeline that dates back to the original head coach, Hank Smith, and goes all the way through Sam Presti, Rob Hennigan, Will Dawkins, and Rob Hennigan. And I’ve had the good fortune to be involved in that pipeline.
For Bisaccio, who played in the video room for the first nine seasons of his Heat career, it has worked well. He began his career with the Heat in 2014 as a video intern, moving up to assistant video coordinator in 2015. In 2019, he took on the post of video coordinator, and he spent the previous season as player development coach.
Along the way, Bisaccio experienced a severe health scare when, in November 2017, he was hospitalized for a hepatic abscess, an uncommon but potentially fatal appendicitis complication.
At that point, according to Bisaccio, he understood the Heat was more than simply his workplace.
“We really preach family here at the Miami Heat, which is one of our many wonderful qualities,” Bisaccio noted. “Many teams and organizations say that, not only in the NBA but all across the world. Saying something is one thing, but acting on it and taking initiative is quite another. Regretfully, I was unconscious. It was just something very strange that we were unable to fully understand.
“The entire Miami Heat family truly came through for me while I was in the hospital and in this coma. Pat Riley, the president of the Heat, Spo, Andy Elisburg, the general manager, and the players themselves. Wayne Ellington, a former player with the Heat, is now a member of the coaching staff for the Heat summer league, bringing his career full circle. My family was well taken care of by them when they were down there. They looked after my buddies, which was incredible.
At that time, Bisaccio gained notoriety as “10-Day Dan” due to Heat players and coaches donning “10 Day” jerseys to show support for him while he healed from his illness. The term “10 Day” refers to the 10-day contracts that are awarded to players during a season. Bisaccio earned the nickname because, during workouts and shootarounds while on the Heat scout squad, he played so well that teammates and coaches made jokes about him attempting to sign a 10-day contract.
Recounting the story behind his moniker, Bisaccio remarked, “It was an off day and we were doing a walk-through on offense and they needed an extra body.” I was invited to be the fifth person, so to speak. I will thus not take that lightly. I’m going to give it my all. These folks are like, “What the heck is this kid doing?” as I’m rushing about. He seems to be trying to get out there for ten days.
“At first, it was more of a joke—like, ‘Look, this guy’s been out here for 10 days.’ Then it started to become more of a word of affection, as if they knew they could put me in a drill or whatever, and I would always give it my best because I understood it was kind of the Miami Heat organization’s expectation, generally speaking.
Whether he is directing a summer league practice or working as a player development coach with the Heat, Bisaccio keeps the same mindset when he goes about his work. He will apply that mentality to his new position as head coach of the Heat’s development club in the G League in a few months.
“I do that, for sure,” Bisaccio declared. “It goes without saying that my movement has diminished. But I’ll give it all I’ve got if my name is called and I’m protecting. I’m going to run about like crazy.
