Mike D'Antoni

Last updated

Mike D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni 2010.jpg
D'Antoni coaching the New York Knicks in 2010
New Orleans Pelicans
PositionCoaching consultant
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1951-05-08) May 8, 1951 (age 72)
Mullens, West Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Italian
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Mullens (Mullens, West Virginia)
College Marshall (1970–1973)
NBA draft 1973: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings
Playing career1973–1990
Position Point guard
Number5, 8, 10, 14
Coaching career1990–present
Career history
As player:
1973–1975 Kansas City-Omaha Kings
1975–1976 Spirits of St. Louis
1976 San Antonio Spurs
1977–1990 Olimpia Milano
As coach:
1990–1994 Olimpia Milano
1994–1997 Benetton Basket
1997–1998 Denver Nuggets (assistant)
1998–1999 Denver Nuggets
2000–2001 Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
2001–2002Benetton Basket
2002–2003 Phoenix Suns (assistant)
2003–2008 Phoenix Suns
2008–2012 New York Knicks
2012–2014 Los Angeles Lakers
2015–2016 Philadelphia 76ers (associate HC)
2016–2020 Houston Rockets
2020–2021 Brooklyn Nets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA/ABA statistics
Points 605 (3.4 ppg)
Rebounds 262 (1.5 rpg)
Assists 363 (2.0 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Assistant coach for the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Beijing Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 London Team
FIBA World Championship
Assistant coach for the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Japan Men's basketball
FIBA Americas Championship
Assistant coach for the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Las Vegas Men's basketball

Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) [1] is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Contents

While head coach of the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous season. He coached the New York Knicks starting in 2008 before resigning in 2012. He was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers seven games into the 2012–13 season. On June 1, 2016, D'Antoni was named head coach of the Rockets, and he received his second NBA Coach of the Year award for the 2016–17 season. [2] D'Antoni is known for favoring a fast-paced, offense-oriented system. Guards Steve Nash and James Harden would win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award playing under D'Antoni's system.

Playing career

High school and college

After playing high school basketball at Mullens High School, in Mullens, West Virginia, D'Antoni played college basketball at Marshall University, with the Thundering Herd, from 1970 to 1973.

Professional career

After a college basketball career at Marshall University, D'Antoni was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft. After playing three seasons for the Kings (1973–1975), he played for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1975–76, and for the San Antonio Spurs (again in the NBA) in 1976–77. His Spurs career lasted just two games, before he found an opportunity to play overseas.

D'Antoni was signed by the Italian team Olimpia Milano, starting a career that saw him become the club's all-time leading scorer. He was voted the Italian LBA league's top point guard of all time in 1990, [3] and paced his team to five Italian League titles, two FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) titles, two Italian Cups, one FIBA Korać Cup, and one FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

During his playing career in Italy, D'Antoni earned the nickname "Il Baffo" (Italian for "The Mustache"), in reference to his ever-present facial hair. [4] He also earned the nickname "Arsène Lupin" because of his ability to steal the ball. [5] In 2015, Olimpia Milano retired his No. 8 jersey, in order to honor him.

National team career

Being of Italian origin with American and Italian dual citizenship, D'Antoni was also selected to play on the senior men's Italian national team for the EuroBasket tournament in 1989. [6] [7]

Coaching career

Olimpia Milano (1990–1994)

D'Antoni began his career as head coach for his most loyal club, Olimpia Milan. He remained there for four seasons, from 1990 to 1994, leading the club to a 1992 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four appearance, and a 1992–93 season FIBA Korać Cup title.

Benetton Treviso (1994–1997)

D'Antoni was then chosen to coach Benetton Treviso, another major Italian league basketball club. During his tenure with Treviso (1994–1997), the team captured the FIBA European Cup (later renamed Saporta Cup) and Italian Cup (in 1995), and won the Italian national domestic league title in the 1996–97 season. D'Antoni's Italian club teams went to the Italian League's playoffs each season.

Denver Nuggets (1997–1999)

D'Antoni's first NBA coaching job was with the Denver Nuggets in 1997–98 as the club's director of player personnel. He also did some broadcasting work with TNT that season. The next year, he became the Nuggets' head coach, but was fired after a poor performance during the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2000–2001)

D'Antoni then became a scout for San Antonio Spurs during the 1999–2000 season. He was also an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000–01.

Return to Benetton (2001–2002)

In 2001, D'Antoni returned to Italy for a second stint as the coach of Benetton Treviso. In his one-season back in Europe, he led Treviso to a 28–8 regular season record in the Italian League, an Italian League championship, and to a 2002 Euroleague Final Four appearance, coaching a team filled with many former NBA stars.

Phoenix Suns (2002–2008)

D'Antoni coaching the Suns, 2008 012308-TC-Twolves002-MikeDantoni.jpg
D'Antoni coaching the Suns, 2008

In 2002, D'Antoni made his return to the NBA as a Phoenix Suns assistant under Frank Johnson. In 2003, he replaced Johnson with 61 games left in the season as the Suns' head coach [8] and, despite the team's failure to improve in the second half of the season, received a vote of confidence for producing inspired play from the injury-riddled team. With the acquisition of free agent Steve Nash before the 2004–05 season, an incredible turnaround began for the team. Nash was experienced in the run-and-gun style from his previous stints with the Dallas Mavericks and the Suns. He excelled running D'Antoni's pick-and-roll offense. [9] D'Antoni won the NBA Coach of the Year Award after his Suns went 62–20 to finish first in the regular season. His style, dubbed "Seven Seconds or Less", was described in a book of that name. Overall, his Suns won 50 or more games in four consecutive seasons, while Nash earned NBA MVP honors in 2005 and 2006. In addition to Nash, D'Antoni's Suns also featured All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire and high-flying All-Star small forward Shawn Marion. They made consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals in 2005 and 2006, losing to the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, respectively. [9] D'Antoni became the Suns' GM after Bryan Colangelo's departure and passed on the post to Steve Kerr in 2007. [10] The Suns were eliminated in the playoffs by the Spurs in 2007 and 2008, after which D'Antoni left Phoenix for the New York Knicks.

New York Knicks (2008–2012)

D'Antoni and Allan Houston with the Knicks Mike D'Antoni and Allan Houston.jpg
D'Antoni and Allan Houston with the Knicks

Although Steve Kerr requested he stay with the Suns, D'Antoni was told that he was free to speak with other teams about coaching jobs. [11] On May 9, D'Antoni was made an offer by the New York Knicks. [12] The next day, he accepted the 4-year, $24 million offer and became the Knicks' head coach. [13] [14]

After two losing seasons, D'Antoni with new additions Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to the playoffs in 2010–11 with a 42–40 record. They were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.

D'Antoni resigned as coach on March 14, 2012, and assistant coach Mike Woodson filled his vacancy as the head coach. [15] The Knicks were off to a disappointing 18–24 start, and D'Antoni clashed with Anthony. [9]

Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2014)

On November 12, 2012, the Lakers signed D'Antoni to a three-year contract worth $12 million. [16] [17] He replaced Mike Brown, who was fired as head coach after a 1–4 start to the 2012–13 season. The Lakers first contacted former Lakers coach Phil Jackson about the opening, but D'Antoni was hired in a unanimous decision by the Lakers front office. [9] [18] [19] [20] The Lakers felt that D'Antoni's fast-paced style of play made him a "great fit" for the team, more suitable than Jackson's structured triangle offense. [18] [19] [21] [22] Lakers owner Jerry Buss's preference has always been for the Lakers to have a wide-open offense. [18] D'Antoni was reunited with Nash, who was traded to the Lakers before the season. Lakers star Kobe Bryant was also familiar with D'Antoni; Bryant as a child knew him when D'Antoni was a star in Italy and Bryant's father was also playing there. Bryant grew close to D'Antoni during their time with Team USA. [9] [20]

D'Antoni's coaching debut with the Lakers was delayed as he recovered from knee replacement surgery. He had surgery weeks before on October 31, as he originally expected to take a year off from coaching and have months to recover. [23] Bernie Bickerstaff, who was the Lakers' interim coach after Brown was fired, continued in that role after D'Antoni was hired. [24] He was 4–1 as the interim coach, winning his last two as D'Antoni started leading team practices. [25] [26] D'Antoni named a new assistant to the Lakers' staff, his older brother Dan, who also helped with the practices. In his first press conference, D'Antoni predicted that the Lakers, then 3–5 and ranked 20th in scoring with 96.5 points per game, should instead be scoring "110–115 points a game". [25] He wanted to revive Showtime. [27] He reiterated general manager Mitch Kupchak's belief that the Lakers were built to win an NBA championship that season. D'Antoni was glad to be back with Nash, noting his unsuccessful stint with the Knicks without him. [25] On November 20, he coached his first game—nine days after he was hired—in a 95–90 win against the Brooklyn Nets. [28] In his first game back in New York in December, the Lakers lost 116–107 and dropped to 4–9 overall under D'Antoni. [29] D'Antoni coached his first 17 games without Nash, who was recovering from a broken leg. [30] The Lakers won three out of four after Nash returned in late December, but proceeded to lose their next six. [31] [32]

Calling it a permanent move, D'Antoni benched forward Pau Gasol in mid-January and started Earl Clark to form the faster and smaller lineup the coach preferred. [33] [34] [35] The team was already ranked No. 2 in pace. [34] Halfway through the season, the Lakers were in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 17–24 record. Under D'Antoni, the Lakers were 12–19 while scoring an average of 103.3 points a game but surrendering 103.4. [36] Offensively, they reached the 110-point threshold just eight times in the 31 games, going 5–3. [37] D'Antoni stressed that the team's focus needed to be on its defense, not offense. [38] He likened the Lakers to an All-Star team in which "everybody gets the ball and goes one on one and then they play no defense", [39] adding that they "haven't learned that there's a pecking order" where stars need to know their roles. [39]

Nash struggled with center Dwight Howard to run the pick and roll, a play D'Antoni expected to be a staple for the Lakers. [40] D'Antoni eventually dropped his offense and played without any system. [41] [42] "We play basketball. The system is move the ball, play hard defense, space the floor and who's open shoots. It's not a difficult thing", said D'Antoni. [42] The coach moved Nash off the ball and made him more of a spot-up shooter, while Bryant became the primary facilitator on offense. [41] [42] [43] The defense was also more energized. [44]

D'Antoni was named Western Conference Coach of the Month after the Lakers went 7–1 in April. They finished the season 45–37 after dropping to 17–25 in January the day of their team meeting in Memphis. [45] They qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season, securing the seventh seed in the West. [46] The Lakers' expected starting five of Bryant, Nash, Howard, Gasol and Metta World Peace started together just seven times all season and without registering a win. [47] "The Lakers didn't help things by making the coaching change and putting [D'Antoni] in that situation, which he was glad to take. But I think it was a little bit tougher than he thought it would be", Kupchak said. [45] The Lakers faced San Antonio in the playoffs and lost in the opening round for the first time since 2007, suffering their first opening-round sweep since 1967. [48]

In D'Antoni's first full season with the team in 2013–14, the Lakers went 27–55 for the second-worst winning percentage (.329) in team history. It was the worst 82-game record in team history and their fewest wins since the franchise moved from Minnesota. [49] Howard left before the season as a free agent, accepting less money to join the Houston Rockets. [50] Bryant played in just six games during the season, but he and Gasol were critical of D'Antoni's small-ball system. [51] Nash also missed most of the season with injuries. [50] On April 30, 2014, D'Antoni resigned as coach of the Lakers after the team declined to pick up their option for him to coach in 2015–16. He was paid an undisclosed amount of the $4 million owed him for the upcoming 2014–15 season. "Given the circumstances, I don't know that anybody could have done a better job than Mike did the past two seasons", said Kupchak. [51]

Philadelphia 76ers (2015–2016)

On December 18, 2015, D'Antoni signed with the Philadelphia 76ers to work as associate head coach under Brett Brown. [52]

Houston Rockets (2016–2020)

On June 1, 2016, D'Antoni was named the new head coach of the Houston Rockets. [2]

In his first season with the Rockets, D'Antoni led the team to a 55–27 record, and the Rockets to the NBA Western Conference semi-finals. On May 7, 2017, D'Antoni and Erik Spoelstra were announced as co-recipients of the inaugural NBCA Coach of the Year Award. [53] On June 26, 2017, he won the NBA Coach of the Year Award.

During the 2017–18 season, D'Antoni's led the Rockets to the best regular season in the NBA with a 65–17 record. However, the Rocket's playoff ended in the NBA Western Conference finals after losing 4–3 to the Golden State Warriors.

After the 2018–19 season, the Rockets won more games in his three seasons than in any three-year stretch in franchise history (173–73). The Rockets were 23–16 in the playoffs during that same span. [54] As a result, D'Antoni accumulated the best win-percentage of any Rockets coach. [55]

On May 30, 2019, after the considerable dismantling of the coaching staff, [56] D'Antoni announced that he decided not to renew his contract which was set to expire after the 2019–20 season. [57] Prior to the announcement, he showed interest in signing a contract extension, stating: "I've let Daryl [Morey] and [owner] Tilman [Fertitta] know that I'm energized to keep coaching – and believe that I can continue to do this at a high-level for at least another three years." [58] On June 8, it was reported that Fertitta and D'Antoni were nearing an agreement on a contract extension after the language of a buyout was removed from the previous offer—which is what caused the initial talks to die out in the first place. [59] [54] Ultimately, D'Antoni started the 2019–20 season with no contract extension. [60] On September 13, 2020, a day after Houston lost the conference semifinals 4–1 to the Lakers, D'Antoni announced that he would not return to the team. [61]

Brooklyn Nets (2020–2021)

On October 30, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets hired D'Antoni as an assistant coach. [62] On July 28, 2021, he stepped down from his position after one season. [63] [64]

New Orleans Pelicans (2021–present)

On August 4, 2021, D'Antoni was hired as coaching advisor by the New Orleans Pelicans. [65]

National team career

D'Antoni was selected to the coaching staff for the Team USA Olympic Basketball squad under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and participated in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning a bronze medal. [66] Pundits[ who? ] believed his familiarity with the three-point shot and the zone defense, hallmarks of the international game, were valuable assets to the team.[ citation needed ]

In the summer of 2012, D'Antoni returned to Team USA as an assistant coach again under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He reunited with Knicks players Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler on this team as they prepared for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. [67]

NBA/ABA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1973–74 Kansas City–Omaha (NBA)5219.0.402.7021.82.41.4.34.8
1974–75 Kansas City–Omaha (NBA)6711.3.399.7781.11.61.0.22.5
1975–76 Kansas City (NBA)911.2.2591.0001.61.81.1.01.8
1975–76 St. Louis (ABA)5016.0.475.000.7311.52.31.3.33.5
1976–77 San Antonio (NBA)24.5.333.5001.01.0.0.01.5
Career (NBA)13014.3.392.7361.41.91.2.23.3
Career (overall)18014.8.414.000.7351.52.01.2.23.4

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1975 Kansas City–Omaha (NBA)410.5.5001.0001.8.31.0.34.5

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Denver 1998–99 501436.2806th in Midwest————Missed playoffs
Phoenix 2003–04 612140.3446th in Pacific————Missed playoffs
Phoenix 2004–05 826220.7561st in Pacific1596.600Lost in Conference finals
Phoenix 2005–06 825428.6591st in Pacific201010.500Lost in Conference finals
Phoenix 2006–07 826121.7441st in Pacific1165.545Lost in Conference semifinals
Phoenix 2007–08 825527.6712nd in Pacific514.200Lost in First round
New York 2008–09 823250.3905th in Atlantic————Missed playoffs
New York 2009–10 822953.3543rd in Atlantic————Missed playoffs
New York 2010–11 824240.5122nd in Atlantic404.000Lost in First round
New York 2011–12 421824.429(resigned)—————
L.A. Lakers 2012–13 724032.5563rd in Pacific404.000Lost in First round
L.A. Lakers 2013–14 822755.3295th in Pacific————Missed playoffs
Houston 2016–17 825527.6712nd in Southwest1165.545Lost in Conference semifinals
Houston 2017–18 826517.7931st in Southwest17116.647Lost in Conference finals
Houston 2018–19 825329.6461st in Southwest1165.545Lost in Conference semifinals
Houston 2019–20 724428.6111st in Southwest1257.417Lost in Conference semifinals
Career1,199672527.560 1105456.491 

Personal life

D'Antoni's father was a high school basketball coach in West Virginia and Ohio, and was inducted into West Virginia's Sports Hall of Fame. His older brother Dan coached under him as an assistant in Phoenix, New York, and Los Angeles. [68] Both Mike (1997) and Dan (1990) have been enshrined in the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame.

D'Antoni is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy, making him the first Italian to lead an NBA team. He descends from an Italian grandfather who emigrated from Umbria, Italy, to the U.S. in the early 20th century. [69] He is fluent in English and Italian. [70]

He lives[ as of? ] in the Memorial neighborhood in Houston, with his wife, Laurel, and has a son named Mike. [71]

See also

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The Lakers–Clippers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. The two Pacific Division teams both play their home games in the Greater Los Angeles area, thus inspiring their matchups to sometimes be called the "Battle of L.A." The Lakers originally relocated from Minneapolis in 1960, while the Clippers moved from San Diego in 1984 after previously moving to San Diego from Buffalo, New York while going away from the original Buffalo Braves name in 1978. While Los Angeles fans have historically favored the Lakers, the Clippers have sold out or filled capacity for every home game at Staples Center since Feb. 2011 and entered the 2016–17 season with the sixth-longest active sellout streak in the NBA, which continued up until the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lakers have won 12 of their 17 NBA championships since moving to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Clippers have made the playoffs only eleven times since 1984 and remain arguably the least successful professional sports franchise in North America, and had never advanced past the second round of the playoffs until 2021. Some contended that the term rivalry was inaccurate due to the Lakers historical success and the Clippers historical lack of success. In 2012–13, the Clippers won the first of six straight season series against the Lakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Showtime (basketball)</span> Era in Los Angeles Lakers history (1979–1991)

In basketball, Showtime was an era in Los Angeles Lakers history from 1979 to 1991 when the National Basketball Association (NBA) team played an exciting run-and-gun style of basketball. Led by Magic Johnson's passing skills and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring, the team relied on fast breaks and won five NBA championships. Lakers owner Jerry Buss purchased the team in 1979, and he wanted their games to be entertaining. He insisted that the Lakers play an up-tempo style, and the team hired dancers and a live band for their home games at The Forum. The team established a Hollywood-celebrity following.

James Hatten Buss is a part-owner and former executive vice president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Buss was president of the Los Angeles Lazers professional indoor soccer team from 1985–1989. He later trained thoroughbred race horses for nine years before joining the Lakers in 1998 as an assistant general manager. He was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 2005. After his father Jerry died in 2013, his controlling ownership of the Lakers passed to his children via a family trust, with each child receiving an equal interest.

The 2014–15 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 67th season, its 66th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 55th in Los Angeles. Coming off from one of the worst seasons in franchise history and missing the playoffs, the team looked to rebound. Mike D'Antoni resigned in late April following two miserable seasons, leaving the team without a head coach. In the offseason, Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks left for Chicago and Detroit, respectively, leaving big holes to fill. After failing to land the biggest names in the offseason like Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, the Lakers brought back numerous key role players from last season including Nick Young, Jordan Hill, and Ryan Kelly. The Lakers later acquired point guard Jeremy Lin in a trade with Houston and won the bidding rights to power forward Carlos Boozer after being amnestied by Chicago in the offseason. The Lakers also drafted Kentucky's star power forward Julius Randle and shooting guard Jordan Clarkson in the 2014 NBA Draft. The team then hired Lakers Showtime player and former Coach of the Year, Byron Scott as head coach in late July. On December 14, 2014, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points to pass Michael Jordan for third on the NBA's all-time scoring list in a 100–94 win over Minnesota.

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