Report: 76ers hire D'Antoni as assistant coach
The Philadelphia 76ers have hired seasoned NBA veteran Mike D’Antoni as associate head coach, The Inquirer reported Thursday night, citing two league sources.
D’Antoni joins the beleaguered Sixers on the heels of coach Brett Brown agreeing last Friday to a two-year extension that will carry him through the 2018-19 season and Jerry Colangelo being named chairman of basketball operations Monday. Colangelo also will serve as an adviser to team ownership.
D’Antoni, 64, previously was head coach of the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers but has been out of the game since stepping down from the Lakers following the 2013-14 season. His name has come up in connection with vacancies, including the Nuggets’ this past offseason.
D’Antoni has ties to Colangelo from their time in Phoenix, where Colangelo was the Suns’ owner and longtime cornerstone of the franchise. Colangelo also is the chairman of USA Basketball, and D’Antoni has served on Team USA’s staff.
D’Antoni saw his most success as head coach of the Suns from 2003 to ’08, reaching two Western Conference finals and being named the 2004-05 NBA coach of the year. His high-powered “seven seconds or less” offense revolutionized the game. However, he didn’t achieve the same results with the Knicks and Lakers.
The Sixers have the worst record in the NBA at 1-26.
Information from ESPN’s Chris Broussard and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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