Steve Nash indicated he does not expect to pursue another head-coaching opportunity, reflecting on his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets and the evolving demands of the modern NBA. The Hall of Fame guard addressed the topic on the latest episode of Mind The Game while speaking with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
Nash spent two-plus seasons as head coach of the Nets from 2020 to 2022, finishing with a 94–67 regular-season record. Brooklyn went 7–9 in the postseason during his tenure, which was defined by the franchise’s ill-fated attempt to build around its star trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The group played only 16 total games together across more than two years as injuries, absences and roster changes derailed championship expectations.
When asked if he would consider returning to the sidelines, Nash gave a direct answer.
“I don’t think I would pursue it again,” Nash said. “You know it was a unique situation where they came to me and said they could use my help with this group and was I up for it. So that was a great moment, a great journey. Unfortunately we were always hurt. Our big three played 16 games together in over two years. So we never really got to see the finish line in a lot of ways but it was a great experience.”
Steve Nash explains why his Nets experience ended his coaching pursuit
Nash expanded on what he learned during his first head-coaching stint, describing the scope of responsibilities that extend far beyond basketball strategy.
“There’s a lot but one of the things that I think was interesting was as a head coach in today’s NBA, you are like in a way the CEO of a startup and that you’re bringing in a new system and culture to like 60 people,” Nash said.
He continued.
“It’s not just 12 players, you know. There’s 15 players and two two-ways, right? There’s nine coaches… So including you, there could be nine, 10, 11 coaches on a staff. There’s five in the video room, right? There’s 10 on the performance team, you know, physios, trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, sports science. Then you have the front office, you have to be in lock step with the GMs, assistant GMs. There’s an analytics department – it might be three, four, five people in the analytics department that you’re constantly interfacing with.”
Nash reflects on the challenges of managing a full NBA organization
Nash said the scale of managing an entire organization, rather than solely a roster, became one of the most complex aspects of the job.
“So, you add it up if there’s 50, 60 people there’s a lot more management skills that come into, especially maybe as a young coach trying to build something… you end up putting out a lot of fires or trying to be connective tissue or spending your time in things that you didn’t necessarily expect when you accept a coaching position,” Nash said.
He noted that established franchises with stable systems can benefit from larger staffs, but first-time coaches often face a steeper climb.
“I think that’s probably where I would say I was unaware of how tricky that balance was and how much time that took,” Nash said.
Nash has not held an NBA coaching position since his departure from Brooklyn in November 2022.
