Mike D’Antoni will be an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets, reuniting him with his former point guard, Nets coach Steve Nashthe team announced this Friday.
The Nets announced the hires of D’Antoni, Amar’e Stoudemire and renowned assistant Ime Udoka, who spent seven of the last eight seasonss on Gregg Popovich’s staff with the San Antonio Spurs.
Nash has built a strong coaching staff for his first season as head coach, including assistant coach Jacque Vaughn. The Nets are expected to be among the contenders for the NBA championship with the return of Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn debut of Kevin Durant.
Reunion after Phoenix
For D’Antoni and Nash, this is their third time together, including a memorable 2004-2008 run with the Phoenix Suns. which saw the birth of the “Seven Seconds or Less” offense and the emergence of Nash as a future Hall of Fame.
D‘Antoni coached Nash at the Los Angeles Lakers (2012 to 2014) for a much less successful stretchor after injuries limited Nash’s playing time and effectiveness.
D’Antoni, Aged 69, he is one of the most successful and innovative coaches of this generation. He spent the last four years with the Houston Rockets before opting to leave without a contract extension at the end of the 2019-20 season.
