Mike D'Antoni

At 73 years old, Mike D'Antoni has this physical status:

Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since the Suns won 33 more victories than the previous season, head coach Robby of the Phoenix Suns earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season.

He coached the New York Knicks from 2008 to 2012 before resigning in 2012.

He was recruited by the Lakers seven games into the 2012–13 season.

D'Antoni was named head coach of the Rockets on June 1, 2016, and he received his second NBA Coach of the Year award for the 2016–17 season.

D'Antoni, a citizen of both the United States and Italy, is known for favouring a fast-paced, offense-oriented approach.

Personal life

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

D'Antoni is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy, making him the first Italian to head an NBA team. He descends from an Italian grandfather who migrated from Umbria, Italy, to the United States in the early 20th century. He is fluent in English and Italian.

Mike and his partner, Laurel, live in Houston's Memorial neighborhood, and they have a son named Mike.

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Playing career

D'Antoni, who played high school basketball at Mullens High School in Mullens, West Virginia, graduated from 1970 to 1973.

In the second round of the 1973 NBA draft, D'Antoni was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings following a college basketball career at Marshall University. He appeared with the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association (1976-77) and the San Antonio Spurs (again in the NBA) in 1976–77. Before he found an opportunity to play internationally, his Spurs career lasted just two games.

D'Antoni was signed by the Italian team Olimpia Milano, marking his debut as the club's all-time leading scorer. In 1990, he was named the best point guard of the Italian LBA league, led his team to five Italian League titles, two FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague), two Italian Cups, one FIBA Kora Cup, and one FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

D'Antoni acquired the nickname "Il Baffo" (Italian for "The Mustache") in reference to his ever-present facial hair during his playing career in Italy. He also received the nickname "Arsène Lupin" because of his ability to steal the ball. Olimpia Milano resigned his No. 1 in 2015. In order to honor him, the 8 jerseys were used to honor him.

National team career

D'Antoni, an Italian national team with American and Italian dual citizenship, was also selected to participate in the EuroBasket tournament in 1989.

Coaching career

D'Antoni began his career as the head coach for his most faithful team, Olimpia Milan. He served for four seasons, from 1990 to 1994, leading the team to a 1992 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four appearance and a 1992-1993 FIBA Kora Cup championship.

D'Antoni was later chosen to coach Benetton Treviso, another top Italian league basketball team. During his tenure with Treviso (1994–1997), the team captured the FIBA European Cup (later renamed Saporta Cup) and Italian Cup (in 1995), as well as winning the Italian national domestic league title in the 1996–97 season. Each season, D'Antoni's Italian club teams qualified for the Italian League playoffs.

D'Antoni's first NBA coaching position was with the Denver Nuggets from 1997-98 as the club's director of player personnel. During that season, he also did some broadcasting for TNT. He became the Nuggets' head coach next year, but he was fired following a poor showing during the 1998–99 season.

During the 1999-2000 season, D'Antoni became a scout for the San Antonio Spurs. In 2000-2001, he was also an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers.

D'Antoni returned to Italy for a second stint as the Benetton Treviso's coach. He led Treviso to a 28-28 regular season record in the Italian League, an Italian League championship, and a 2002 Euroleague Final Four appearance, as one of several former NBA stars.

D'Antoni made his return to the NBA under Frank Johnson in 2002 as a Phoenix Suns assistant under D'Antoni. Johnson was fired with 61 games remaining in the season as the Suns' head coach, and the Suns' loss in the second half of the season gave the team a vote of confidence for producing inspired play from the injury-riddled team. Steve Nash, a free agent who was not drafted before the 2004-05 season, put the team's incredible turnaround underway. Nash was active in the run-and-gun style from his time with the Dallas Mavericks and the Suns. He excelled in D'Antoni's pick-and-roll offense. After his Suns went 62–20 to finish first in the regular season, D'Antoni received the NBA Coach of the Year Award. In a book of that name, his style, dubbed "Seven Seconds or Less," was outlined. In total, his Suns have won 50 or more games in four seasons in a row, while Nash has won NBA MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. In addition to Nash, the Suns of D'Antoni also featured All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire and high-flying All-Star small forward Shawn Marion. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks respectively in consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals in 2005 and 2006. After Bryan Colangelo's resignation and passed on the helm to Steve Kerr in 2007, D'Antoni became the Suns' GM. In 2007 and 2008, the Suns were kicked out of the playoffs by the Spurs, after which D'Antoni left Phoenix for the New York Knicks.

Although Steve Kerr requested that he remain with the Suns, D'Antoni was told that he was free to talk to other teams about coaching jobs. The New York Knicks made an offer to D'Antoni on May 9, the New York Knicks. He accepted the 4-year, $24 million contract and became the Knicks' head coach the next day.

With recent acquisitions Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to the playoffs in 2010–11, the Knicks led them to the playoffs for the first time in two losing seasons. In the first round, the Boston Celtics had swept them.

D'Antoni resigned as coach on March 14, 2012, and assistant coach Mike Woodson filled the vacancy as the head coach. The Knicks were off to a slow 18-24 start, and D'Antoni and Anthony Dugout met.

The Lakers signed D'Antoni to a three-year deal worth $12 million on November 12, 2012. Mike Brown, who had been fired as head coach after a 1–4 start to the 2012–13 season, was fired as head coach. Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson was first contacted about the opening, but the Lakers' front office confirmed D'Antoni in a unanimous decision. D'Antoni's fast-paced style of play made him a "great match" for the team, which was more appropriate than Jackson's rigid triangle offense. Jerry Buss, the current Lakers' owner, has always wanted the Lakers to have a wide-open offense. D'Antoni was reunited with Nash, who was traded to the Lakers before the season. Kobe Bryant, a member of the Lakers, was also familiar with D'Antoni; Bryant as a child knew him when D'Antoni was a celebrity in Italy, and Bryant's father was also playing there. During his time with Team USA, Bryant grew close to D'Antoni.

D'Antoni's debut with the Lakers was postponed until he recovered from knee replacement surgery. He had surgery weeks before on October 31, as he was supposed to take a year off from teaching and wait months to recover. After Brown was fired, Bernie Bickerstaff, the Lakers' interim coach, continued in that role after D'Antoni was hired. He was 4–1 as the interim coach, winning his last two as D'Antoni began leading team workouts. D'Antoni introduced Dan, his older brother who also assisted with the Lakers' activities, as a new assistant to the Lakers' staff. D'Antoni's first press conference said that the Lakers, who are now 3–5 and ranked 20th in scoring with 96.5 points per game, should now be scoring "110–115 points a game." He wanted to revive Showtime. Mitch Kupchak reiterated general manager Mitch Kupchak's assertion that the Lakers were intended to win an NBA championship this season. D'Antoni was relieved to be back with Nash, noting that he was unable to play without him. He coached his first game, nine days after being hired, in a 95-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on November 20. The Lakers lost 116–107 in December's first game back in New York and fell to 4–9 overall under D'Antoni. D'Antoni coached his first 17 games without Nash, who was recovering from a fractured leg. Since Nash returned in late December, the Lakers won three out of four games, but lost their next six.

In mid-January, D'Antoni suspended forward Pau Gasol and brought on Earl Clark to create the faster and smaller squad that the coach desired, calling it a permanent change. The squad was already ranked No. 2 in the U.S. The two of them are at a good pace. The Lakers were in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 17–24 record halfway through the season. The Lakers were 12-19 under D'Antoni, with an average of 103.3 points per game but surrendering 103.4. They reached the 110-point threshold just eight times in 31 games, going 5–3. The team's primary concern, not offense, should be focused on the team's defense, not offense, according to D'Antoni. "Everybody gets the ball and goes one on one, and then they play no defense," he said, adding that the Lakers "haven't learned" that there's a pecking order" in which actors must know their roles.

Nash's center Dwight Howard was unable to perform the pick and roll, a Lakers staple, according to D'Antoni. D'Antoni's offense was eventually dropped and he didn't have a clue. "We play basketball." Move the ball, play hard defense, space the floor, and who has open shoots are all available. It's not a difficult thing," D'Antoni said. Nash was moved off the ball and made him more of a spot-up shooter, while Bryant became the primary facilitator on offense. The defense was also more energized.

D'Antoni was named Western Conference Coach of the Month after the Lakers went 7-1 in April. They finished the season 47–37 after losing to 17–25 in January the day of their team's meeting in Memphis. On the last day of the season, they qualified for the playoffs, winning the seventh seed in the West. Bryant, Nash, Howard, Gasol, and Metta World Peace, the Lakers' starting five, was scheduled to play just seven times all season, without losing a single time. "The Lakers didn't help by making the coaching change and deploying [D'Antoni] in that situation, which he was eager to take. However, I think it was a little bit more difficult than she expected it would be," Kupchak said. The Lakers lost in the first round since 2007, losing their first opening-round sweep since 1967.

The Lakers went 27–55 for the second-worst winning percentage (.329) in team history in D'Antoni's first full season with the team in 2013–14. It was the lowest 82-game record in team history and the franchise's fewest victories since the franchise was relocated from Minnesota. Howard was released early in the season as a free agent, but the Houston Rockets were unable to contribute less money. Bryant played in just six games during the season, but he and Gasol were scathing of D'Antoni's small-ball system. Nash also suffered from injuries for the majority of the season. D'Antoni resigned as the Lakers' coach on April 30, 2014, after the team refused to select his successor for him as coach in 2015–16. He was paid an undisclosed amount of the $4 million owed him for the forthcoming 2014–15 season. "Given the circumstances, I don't think anyone would have done a better job than Mike did during the past two seasons," Kupchak said.

D'Antoni joined the Philadelphia 76ers as associate head coach under Brett Brown on December 18, 2015.

D'Antoni, the Houston Rockets' current head coach, was announced on June 1, 2016.

D'Antoni led the team to a 55-27 record and the Rockets to the NBA Western Conference semi-finals in his first season with the Rockets. D'Antoni and Erik Spoelstra were named co-recipients of the inaugural NBCA Coach of the Year Award on May 7, 2017. On June 26, 2017, he was named NBA Coach of the Year.

D'Antoni led the Rockets to their best regular season in the NBA during the 2017–18 season, with a 65–17 record. However, the Rockets' playoff campaign came to an end in the NBA Western Conference Finals after losing 4–3 to the Golden State Warriors.

The Rockets won more games in his three seasons than in any three-year franchise history (173–73). During the same season, the Rockets were 23-16 in the playoffs. D'Antoni had the highest win-performance of any Rockets coach as a result.

D'Antoni revealed on May 30, 2019, after the extensive dismantling of the coaching staff, that he did not renew his contract until the 2020–20 season had expired. "I've let Daryl [Morta] and [owner] Tilman [Fertitta] know that I'm excited to keep teaching [and] hope that I'll keep doing this at a high-level for at least three years," the entrepreneur said ahead of the announcement. Fertitta and D'Antoni had reached an agreement on a contract extension after the terms of a buyout was changed from the previous offer, which is what caused the initial talks to die out in the first place. Overall, D'Antoni began the 2019–20 season without a single contract extension. D'Antoni, the Houston native who lost the conference semifinals 4–1 to the Lakers on Monday, announced on September 13, 2020, that he did not return to the team.

The Brooklyn Nets recruited D'Antoni as an assistant coach on October 30, 2020. He resigned from his position after one season on July 28, 2021.

The New Orleans Pelicans hired D'Antoni as a coaching advisor on August 4, 2021.

National team career

D'Antoni was recruited to the coaching staff for the Team USA Olympic Basketball team under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and he earned a bronze medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Pundits said that his experience with the three-point shot and zone defense, which are both hallmarks of the international game, were valuable assets to the team.

D'Antoni returned to Team USA as an assistant coach under head coach Mike Krzyzewski in the summer of 2012. As they trained for the 2012 London Summer Olympics, he reunited with Knicks players Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

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