Report: Former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni to be inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni will be heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, according to Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro.
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Former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni will be heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the star-studded class of 2026, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.
He led the Suns from 2002 to 2008, taking home NBA Coach of the Year honors for his work in the 2004-05 season with Phoenix posting a 62-20 regular-season record and losing in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs.
D’Antoni finished his five seasons with the Suns with a 253-156 record (65% winning percentage). Phoenix qualified for the postseason in all four of his seasons that he was the lone head coach, as he split duties with Frank Johnson in 2002-03.
Known for his “7 Seconds or Less” offense, D’Antoni played a pivotal role in setting the standard of up-tempo basketball.
He will join a class that includes former Suns center Amar’e Stoudemire, Candance Parker, Elena Delle Donne and Doc Rivers.
The 74-year-old from Mullens, West Virginia was also the head coach for the Denver Nuggets (1997-99), New York Knicks (2008-2012), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-14) and Houston Rockets (2016-2020).
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2026 will be officially announced Saturday ahead of the men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, where the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats will take on No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 UConn will face No. 3 Illinois.
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Comments
5 Comments
Antoni (no D) revolutionized and at the same time sabotaged the Phoenix Suns with his exciting 7 seconds or less style of play but simultaneously eschewing size and defense
Nash made D'Antoni look a lot better than he actually is. Gregg Popovich owned D'Antoni in the postseason.
"Known for his “7 Seconds or Less” offense, D’Antoni played a pivotal role in setting the standard of up-tempo basketball."
Congrats to D'Antoni but to me a bit surprising he was elected to the HOF for basically SSOL.
D'Antoni didn't create the concept of running to try and outscore other teams. Doug Moe in his first full season with Denver in 1981-82 had the Nuggets scoring almost 127 ppg. Moe and the Nuggets played that way for the next nine years. Paul Westhead took over and continued having the Nuggets lead the league in scoring.
Coincidently D'Antoni had failed miserably in Denver in 1998-99 rebuilding what was then the worst team in basketball.