Mike D'Antoni in the Hall of Fame: "We didn't fully utilize our potential"
Ahead of his induction into the NBA Hall of Fame, former coach Mike D'Antoni reflects on his time with the Phoenix Suns: "I'm proud of what we did, but we didn't go all the way because we were the first and doubted our own style."
Tonight, the NBA Hall of Fame ceremony will take place, honoring several legendary figures. Among them is former coach Mike D'Antoni, best remembered for his tenure with the entertaining Phoenix Suns of the 2000s. Also entering the Hall of Fame is Amar'e Stoudemire, who played under D'Antoni, alongside Doc Rivers, Candace Parker, Mark Few, referee Joey Crawford, and the 1996 US Olympic women's team.
In an interview with ESPN, D'Antoni reflected on his years with the Suns, the Lakers, and other teams. During his career, he won the Coach of the Year award twice, and under his guidance, Steve Nash (twice) and James Harden won a combined three MVP titles. He recorded 672 NBA wins and served as an assistant coach for the US national team during two Olympic gold medal runs.
His primary legacy remains the "7 seconds or less" philosophy that influenced the league for years to come.
"That's the reason I'm getting into the Hall of Fame. I'm proud of it and proud of the team. I'm not stupid enough to think that only our team is responsible for the league's style today, but there are many factors that contributed to it," D'Antoni said.
Reflecting on his regrets, he added:
"My biggest regret is that we didn't take it as far as we wanted. We were the first, and that made us hesitate. We would take 30-something shots from beyond the arc and think, 'Is this too much?'. People thought you couldn't win like that. So instead of going all the way like they do today, we didn't fully utilize our possibilities."
Regarding his time with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant's injury, D'Antoni said: "I don't know if we would have passed San Antonio, but with Kobe, there's always a chance. I hated it for Kobe. It was towards the end of his career, and that's what happened. It was shitty."
Finally, he compared the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic teams: "I think the 2008 team. They were even more in their prime — LeBron, Kobe, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade. Wade was amazing. He saved us in the final against Spain, which was basketball at a very, very high level."
