Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is considered by many as one of, if not the greatest coaches in NCAA history. The 74-year-old has been with the Blue Devils for what feels like forever, and has built quite a reputable trophy cabinet throughout the many years he has been at the helm.
It's almost impossible to imagine Krzyzewski not associated with Duke, but as it turns out, the five-time NCAA champion shot-caller actually turned down a number of high-profile coaching jobs in the NBA with some of the biggest teams in the league. This included the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mike Krzyzewski recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated, and the decorated coach himself detailed the times he rejected a move to the NBA.
“I wasn’t interested in anything at that time,” he said referring to former player and then-Sixers general manager Billy King reaching out to him for the vacant head coaching post back in 2003. “Two times, I was pretty interested. In 1990, when Dave Gavitt took over the Boston Celtics, I did interview with them. And in 2005, with the Lakers, at the end of the day, I didn’t do it. Ironically, in 1990, when I didn’t do it, the next two years, we won our first two national championships.”
What could have been. Then again, we would not have witnessed one of the greatest coaching careers in NCAA history had Krzyzewski opted to go pro.
Krzyzewski also shared that his stint with Team USA also helped him get over any regrets about never going to the NBA.
“In 2005, when I didn’t accept the offer, a few months later, Jerry Colangelo offered me the opportunity to coach the national team as the first national team (permanent) coach,” he explained. “I was able to do that for 11 years. I got my NBA fix, so to speak. I’m really happy I got that.”
There is still time for Krzyzewski, though, right? Perhaps a stint in the NBA is not out of the question at this point?
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