Rajon Rondo (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
There are a variety of paths one can take to becoming an NBA head coach. Erik Spoelstra was a video coordinator who worked his way up the ladder. Tom Thibodeau was a longtime assistant who proved his worth until he got his big chance. Brad Stevens and Billy Donovan came from the college ranks.
Yet one of the most popular paths into the ranks of the coaches is as a former player. 10 of the league’s 30 head coaches at the time of writing are former NBA players. From 2011 to 2021, ten seasons, 40 former players were a head coach for some amount of time.
That means looking at the current rosters around the league could yield a number of players who will one day be head coaches. Yet how do we predict which players fit the bill? A few players might be vocal about their desires to coach, but for most we need to connect the dots ourselves.
Looking back at those 40 former players, we see a few trends. The most obvious one is the position that they played while in the league. 26 of the 40 (65 percent) were point guards or combo guards, a logical connection from running things on the floor to running things from the bench.
Another trend is team success. 15 of the 30, 50 percent, won a title while a player. Another handful were on clear contenders who made it to the Finals but didn’t quite break through. Playing for a team that saw a high level of success perhaps taught these players how to lead a winner themselves, or proved that they knew how to overcome adversity and still accomplish the goal.
Individual player success didn’t seem to have much correlation; for every Steve Nash and Paul Westphal there was a Keith Smart, who became an NBA head coach after playing just two games in his career. Only 11 of the 40 (27.5 percent) made an All-Star Game as a player.
Using these trends as guideposts, as well as a few more logical ones (playing for a Hall of Fame coach, fighting through adversity, etc) we will seek to identify potential coaches from the field of active (and very recently retired) players. We’ll start with some journeyman players and work our way up to the top tier of perennial All-Stars. Here are the 30 players in the NBA who should be head coaches one day.
NBA head coach. Erik Spoelstra was a video coordinator who worked his way up the ladder. Tom Thibodeau was a longtime assistant who proved his worth until he got his big chance. Brad Stevens and Billy Donovan came from the college ranks.</p>
<p>Yet one of the most popular paths into the ranks of the coaches is as a former player. 10 of the league’s 30 head coaches at the time of writing are former NBA players. From 2011 to 2021, ten seasons, 40 former players were a head coach for some amount of time.</p>
<p>That means looking at the current rosters around the league could yield a number of players who will one day be head coaches. Yet how do we predict which players fit the bill? A few players might be vocal about their desires to coach, but for most we need to connect the dots ourselves.</p>
<p>Looking back at those 40 former players, we see a few trends. The most obvious one is the position that they played while in the league. 26 of the 40 (65 percent) were point guards or combo guards, a logical connection from running things on the floor to running things from the bench.</p>
<p>Another trend is team success. 15 of the 30, 50 percent, won a title while a player. Another handful were on clear contenders who made it to the Finals but didn’t quite break through. Playing for a team that saw a high level of success perhaps taught these players how to lead a winner themselves, or proved that they knew how to overcome adversity and still accomplish the goal.</p>
<p>Individual player success didn’t seem to have much correlation; for every Steve Nash and Paul Westphal there was a Keith Smart, who became an NBA head coach after playing just two games in his career. Only 11 of the 40 (27.5 percent) made an All-Star Game as a player.</p>
<p>Using these trends as guideposts, as well as a few more logical ones (playing for a Hall of Fame coach, fighting through adversity, etc) we will seek to identify potential coaches from the field of active (and very recently retired) players. We’ll start with some journeyman players and work our way up to the top tier of perennial All-Stars. Here are the 30 players in the NBA who should be head coaches one day.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 30 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429545 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2135,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312730370.jpeg" alt="Matthew Dellavedova" width="3200" height="2135" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312730370.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312730370-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Matthew Dellavedova, Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday: 30. Matthew Dellavedova</h2>
<p>Armed with top-10 picks in 2018 and 2019, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/cleveland-cavaliers/">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> took a score-first point guard each time. Collin Sexton and Darius Garland thus pair to make a small backcourt with both players focused on getting their own.</p>
<p>What the two young guards needed was a veteran presence to take them under his wing and show them how to surround their natural talent with skill, hustle and the connective plays that elevate a team instead of hijacking it. Enter Matthew Dellavedova, who learned alongside one of the best in LeBron James and is passing on his knowledge and unique style of play to the next generation.</p>
<p>“Delly” is not an elite play creator on-ball, but he has mastered off-ball play alongside a ball-dominant star. Acting quickly and decisively, moving without the ball to manipulate the defense, and giving your all on defense to stay on the court. Those traits he has proven willing to pass along to Sexton and Garland as a “coach on the bench” for the Cavaliers.</p>
<p>His affable nature helps him approach and connect with young players, while his experience and understanding of the game give him plenty to pass on. Whether it is in the NBA or overseas, Dellavedova is on track to be a coach once his playing career has come to a close.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 29 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429546 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1207775304.jpeg" alt="Garrett Temple" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1207775304.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1207775304-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Garrett Temple, Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Image</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 29. Garrett Temple</h2>
<p>Being an effective NBA coach means utilizing a number of gifts: that could be NBA experience, strategical know-how, communication skills, etc. It also takes hard work and intelligence, two gifts that Garrett Temple is displaying even during his NBA career as he studies for law school at the same time.</p>
<p>A common name on the tongues of NBA coaches and execs as a current player destined to join their ranks, Temple has said he hopes to work in the league one day. A career journeyman, Temple has seen it all with connections across the league. He has played for 10 teams in all over a decade in the league.</p>
<p>Temple has made it a point to talk to coaches, general managers, video coordinators – he gets to know the personnel at every stop. He is amassing a database of basketball knowledge, on and off the court.</p>
<p>Now 35, Temple is still a rotation player in the NBA, averaging 27.3 minutes per game with the Chicago Bulls. On a one-year contract, he could be on team 11 next, learning from another coaching staff and front office how that organization conducts its business. One day, perhaps not too far in the future, he might be using it to coach his own team.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 28 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429547 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F938936368.jpeg" alt="Ed Davis" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/938936368.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/938936368-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Ed Davis, Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 28. Ed Davis</h2>
<p>For some players, we are trying to take a peek into the locker room to see which ones are providing veteran leadership off the bench. We aren’t there at every practice or in the moments before and after every game. We have to take what we see on the court and extrapolate it out from there.</p>
<p>Except in the case of Ed Davis. The power forward now with the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/minnesota-timberwolves/">Minnesota Timberwolves</a> is trapped on a roster undergoing a youth movement and therefore rarely played. Rather than sulk or demand a way out, he has leaned into his role as the team’s veteran presence, taking young players under his wing and supporting the coaching staff in implementing plays and schemes.</p>
<p>His work did not go unnoticed, and on a road trip this season, he was given the “coach’s key” and allowed to stay in head coach Chris Finch’s suite. He was, in essence, already a coach for this team and the entire organization acknowledged him as such. While focusing on staying ready to play, his work coaching up the incredibly young Minnesota Timberwolves is already at a level to be celebrated.</p>
<p>Davis has struggled to hang onto his spot in the league as his game is marginalized in the modern NBA. Now in his 30s, Davis played just 602 minutes combined the last two seasons. Teams might keep him on as a player-coach of sorts and that could extend his career. Once it’s over, he might make a quick transition into the coaching ranks.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 27 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429548 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1158,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1268088392.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1158" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1268088392.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1268088392-768x556.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 27. J.J. Barea</h2>
<p>It’s fun to wonder at the future of current NBA players, and what they will do with their lives once they retire. In this piece, we are trying to “read the tea leaves” as to which NBA players might be coaches one day: evaluating their desire and their competence.</p>
<p>With J.J. Barea, we don’t have to guess either, as both have been made clear to us. First, he has been outspoken about wanting to coach one day. When the Dallas Mavericks, Barea’s long-term team, released him prior to the 2020-21 NBA season, he <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://www.forbes.com/sites/doylerader/2020/12/12/jj-barea-wants-to-coach-with-the-mavericks-when-playing-career-ends/?sh=2666db313f14%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">made the following statement</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="left ampstart-left">“In the future, I would love to come back and help this team again,” Barea said. “My goal is to coach at the highest level and I know I’ll be great, especially here in Dallas.”
<p></p></blockquote>
<p>Barea has the desire to be an NBA coach; does he have the ability to be one? Here is Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on his long-time point guard:</p>
<blockquote class="left ampstart-left">“He has all the tools to be a successful coach, there’s no doubt about that… He has great leadership abilities, he has leadership presence, he communicates well with players and with people. Those are all tools that are vital for success in coaching.”
<p></p></blockquote>
<p>To keep the quotes coming, Barea even has opportunity. The Mavericks’ general manager Don Nelson said that when Barea was ready to coach, Dallas would be the “first ones at the table” to hire him. The Puerto Rican guard hung around the league for 14 years through a combination of skill and basketball knowledge, and he looks destined to apply those in the coaching field in the not-too-distant future.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 26 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-422466 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1065,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1300736265.jpeg" alt="Tyus Jones" width="1600" height="1065" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1300736265.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1300736265-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Tyus Jones, Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 26. Tyus Jones</h2>
<p>Tyus Jones has always been a leader no matter what team he was playing on. The 6’0″ point guard is a no-frills two-way fighter happy to play whatever on-court role given to him. Everything asked of him he will do. Alongside that humility and grit comes quiet leadership that has elevated multiple teams he has been on.</p>
<p>At Duke University, Jones came in as a freshman point guard behind a four-year player in Quinn Cook. Rather than take a backseat Jones developed into the team’s starting point guard, running the team on both ends of the court and becoming a leader when the other four starters included a pair of seniors and a pair of top-10 picks. Jones won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player as he led the Blue Devils to the NCAA title.</p>
<p>That same leadership has come with Jones for both of his NBA stops, first with the Minnesota Timberwolves and then with the Memphis Grizzlies. The combination of his point guard pedigree and willingness to step into leadership would serve him well as a future head coach.</p>
<p>Before that time, Jones has plenty of career left to play, in just his sixth season in the league. His intelligence and work ethic are too valuable for teams not to keep him around for years to come. Eventually, however, he could choose to stick around the sport he loves by stepping into the ranks of the coaches.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 25 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429549 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1193997318.jpeg" alt="Jared Dudley" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1193997318.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1193997318-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jared Dudley, Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 25. Jared Dudley</h2>
<p>There was a point in his career when Jared Dudley was a high-minute player, spacing the floor offensively and fighting defensively. For a few years he was even a regular starter for the Phoenix Suns, filling a void on the wing alongside a veteran group led by Steve Nash.</p>
<p>For years, however, Dudley has been a desired player to roster but largely not to play. The reason is clear: Dudley is a clear communicator and brilliantly intelligent person who is both glue and assistant coach for any roster he is on.</p>
<p>Last season he played just 45 games and a total of 360 minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 1.5 points per game. There wasn’t any scenario that would come up that Frank Vogel would say “this is when we put Dudley in.” Yet why did the team bring him back? Because he helps a team be better just by being around.</p>
<p>As a coach you need the ability to engage with players, speak frankly but clearly, and encourage them in a positive direction. Dudley is those things, and has been for some time. Now in his mid-30s, he could still find himself hanging around rosters for a few more years because of his value as a veteran leader. Once that career does finally end, he has one waiting for him among the coaching ranks.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 24 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429550 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1066,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1298395491.jpeg" alt="Grant Williams" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1298395491.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1298395491-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Grant Williams, Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 24. Grant Williams</h2>
<p>Oftentimes looking at a player’s bloodlines can provide support for a player’s athleticism or future potential. Stephen Curry learned to shoot from one of the NBA’s all-time great shooters. Kobe Bryant’s father was a professional basketball player. Steve Kerr was the son of an academic and politician, an easy through-line to his success as a coach.</p>
<p>For Grant Williams, tracing his family tree back a generation reveals his mother, Teresa, who works for NASA. Williams grew up devouring any book he could get his hands on. His grandfather on his father’s side was a professional jazz musician, and Williams is proficient in at least four. as he learned to love and play music from his “Pop Pop.” Intelligence and a love for learning, combined with the improvisational nature of jazz, is an excellent foundation with which to build both a basketball and a coaching career.</p>
<p>Williams is an academic on the court, learning opposing player’s tendencies and knowing where to be on defense, a must given his below average physical gifts. He likes to play strategy games like chess and Settlers of Catan, both great training programs for making strategic decisions from the coaching level.</p>
<p>The 6’6″ forward also gets to learn from Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens early in his career, an excellent mentor to develop ATOs (after timeout plays) and make rotation decisions. Williams should be an excellent coach bringing a fresh perspective to the ranks; it’s in his blood, after all.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 23 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429551 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1204930524.jpeg" alt="Jalen Brunson" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1204930524.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1204930524-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jalen Brunson, Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 23. Jalen Brunson</h2>
<p>If one were to chart a course for a young person to follow with an eye on one day coaching, it might look something like Jalen Brunson’s path. The son of an NBA veteran, Brunson was around the league from a young age. His first coach was his dad, training him in the sport they both loved. Then he went to Villanova, playing for new Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright, and subsequently he was drafted to play for another coaching savant in Rick Carlisle.</p>
<p>Brunson is the type of point guard who would make an excellent coach one day, one with the ability to see the floor and make reads without the ego to think he has to shoot every time. He is playing for his team’s benefit, and not his own, scoring when he needs to and moving the ball when that is best.</p>
<p>That commitment to the team and not to advancing one’s own interest is a great component in a head coach. Being a coach in the NBA is not a glamour job; it’s hours and hours of work with critical fan scrutiny as the reward. Coaches can’t play favorites or stroke their own ego if they want to be effective; they have to put in the work and prove to their players they are making decisions based on what is best for the team.</p>
<p>Brunson is a perfect fit as he plays without much of an ego, and his life experiences from an early age have prepared him both for being an NBA point guard and a future coach. These years spent under Carlisle will only help him towards that endpoint, should he choose to pursue it.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 22 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429552" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1198107958.jpeg" alt="Doug McDermott, Indiana Pacers" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1198107958.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1198107958-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Doug McDermott, Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 22. Doug McDermott</h2>
<p>The reasoning behind pegging Doug McDermott as a future head coach is primarily built on the fact that the children of coaches are more likely to become coaches themselves. From Flip and Ryan Saunders, to Paul and Stephen Silas, coaches who grew up with another NBA coach in the house are set up for more success than many.</p>
<p>McDermott’s father, Greg, is the head coach for Creighton University and coached Doug there for four years. Prior to that the elder McDermott coached at various stops around the Midwest, with his family being exposed to his coaching philosophy and the day-to-day grind involved for years.</p>
<p>Many NBA players have never considered the job from the other side of the sideline, their only exposure to coaching having been the act of being coached. For Doug McDermott he has years and years of absorbing things from his dad. He knows what it takes to coach, and he has experience to draw on even without having coached himself.</p>
<p>The fathers of a number of NBA players may have coached them in youth basketball or possibly AAU, but only a handful can claim a father with high-level coaching experience such as McDermott. If Doug decides to move into coaching when he retires, he already has a leg up on learning the job.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 21 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429553" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312658060.jpeg" alt="T.J. McConnell, Indiana Pacers" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312658060.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312658060-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">T.J. McConnell, Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 21. T.J. McConnell</h2>
<p>In some cases it’s the NBA’s biggest stars who decide to make the move into coaching. The elite basketball IQ that keyed their on-court game is translatable to coaching, and their cache as a perennial All-Star grants respect from the players they coach. We have seen this from Larry Bird to now Steve Nash.</p>
<p>More often that that, however, it’s the role players who make excellent coaches. Even without the same physical gifts they can often bring the same basketball intelligence and years of experience. They also bring a tireless work ethic from having grinded to earn a spot in the league.</p>
<p>Star players may struggle to reach less talented players; something that came easily to them won’t for most of the players they are coaching. That wouldn’t be true for a player like T.J. McConnell, for whom nothing has come easy in the league. He fights and claws for every minute he plays, working to improve his game every year just to stick around.</p>
<p>When he has earned minutes he has taken advantage, hounding opposing ball handlers and generating steals at an elite rate. He has developed a short-range jumper game that allows him to use the tiny holes left inside the paint by defenses. That development and strategy to his game will inform him as a future coach.</p>
<p>McConnel won’t have to take something he does naturally and think about how to teach it to the next generation. Instead for anything he does on the court he can show his receipts, hours spent building that option into his toolbelt. That’s a work ethic that will serve him well in the coaching ranks.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 20 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-422478" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1185,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1299857822.jpeg" alt="Mike Conley, Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1185" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299857822.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299857822-768x569.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Mike Conley, Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 20. Mike Conley</h2>
<p>Finally getting his due with an All-Star appearance, Mike Conley’s career allows him to connect with the experiences of a number of different players he might one day coach. From his time at Ohio State University to the Memphis Grizzlies to the Utah Jazz, he can reference a wide variety of the basketball experiences his players might face.</p>
<p>An elite prospect in high school, he knows well the path many future NBA players have to walk. He also knows what it’s like to play for a contender, or on a rebuilding team; how to recover from a serious injury, and how to extend your prime with diet and hard work. He is a high-level offensive player, running the offense as a table-setting point guard. He also played for years with the Grit-N-Grind Memphis Grizzlies, one of the league’s best high-minute defensive guards.</p>
<p>Defense-minded coaches are often former big men, while offensive coaches were often point guards. In Conley a team would get both, a player who marries the two. His intelligence and career path would help him connect both with his front office and with his players.</p>
<p>Conley has always been viewed as the consummate professional, an even-keeled player who cares deeply about winning but never lets it bubble over into harming his team. He has famously never received a technical foul. His ability to stay cool on the sideline as a head coach will help him to leverage that experience and knowledge to help his team win.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 19 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-416771" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2101,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1205422148.jpeg" alt="Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers" width="3200" height="2101" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1205422148.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1205422148-768x504.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Malcolm Brogdon, Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 19. Malcolm Brogdon</h2>
<p>Malcolm Brogdon was never supposed to be a high-level NBA starter being discussed when it is time to vote for All-Stars. He was a “four-year player” at the University of Virginia who was there five years after an injury cost him his sophomore season. Brogdon took advantage of the extra time at school to earn not only his bachelor’s degree but also a master’s degree in public policy by the time he was drafted.</p>
<p>Brogdon’s career took a turn for the best from there, including a Rookie of the Year award after his first season and an $85 million contract after his third. He runs the point now for the Indiana Pacers, able to use his intelligence and experience to run an offense. When injuries saw the Pacers slip out of the postseason by way of play-in loss this year, it was the first time he didn’t make the postseason in his career.</p>
<p>What Brogdon has always proven is not only that he is incredibly smart, but that he can work hard towards multiple goals at the same time. Brogdon put in the work to develop into both a draftable basketball player but also a graduate with two degrees. Coaching requires hours and hours of work, and teams looking to hire one already know that Brogdon can put in that work.</p>
<p>Will he be able to study film? We know he can study at an elite level. How about writing game plans? He has written a master’s thesis. Understand NBA defenses? He’s one of the 10-15 best point guards in the league. Brogdon checks a lot of boxes and should make an excellent coach one day, if he decides not to run for President or go after his PhD.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 18 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429554" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1293686388.jpeg" alt="Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1293686388.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1293686388-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Fred VanVleet, Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 18. Fred VanVleet</h2>
<p>Great leaders who use their words to inspire and build up those around them are a valuable thing. What is also impressive are those who can share the space with such a leader and still find ways to speak up and make a difference. That’s why Fred VanVleet’s impact on his team is so noteworthy.</p>
<p>The Toronto Raptors, with whom VanVleet has played his entire career, have been Kyle Lowry’s team for nearly a decade. He is a vocal leader who lays it all out on the court and speaks to the team on the sideline and in the locker room. He has done an excellent job of setting the culture in Toronto; we’ll talk more about him later on this list.</p>
<p>Yet VanVleet, coming into Lowry’s team as an undrafted rookie in 2016, has not let that stop him from making his voice heard — in a good way. He hasn’t tried to hijack the team or recruit players to “his side” rather than Lowry’s. Instead he has fit into his role on-and-off the court, and brought his own brand of leadership to the table.</p>
<p>When the 6’1″ guard sees something on the court, or in the gameplan, he speaks up. He doesn’t talk just to talk, but he is not timid in raising a point when it would be valuable. He doesn’t let his status as one of the younger players on a veteran team (as it has been for most of his career) stop him from using his voice to help their team perform better. He sees the game like a coach, as many point guards often do, and conveys that knowledge effectively.</p>
<p>The path to becoming a head coach is often through the ranks of assistant coaching, and that “come alongside” leadership experience will serve him well. One day if he is the head coach, he will know better than most how to provide a space for others to speak up to improve the whole. Leadership comes in a variety of forms, and VanVleet has harnessed that to help his team win as a player, and one day he could do the same as a coach.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 17 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429555" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1191809463.jpeg" alt="Vince Carter, Atlanta Hawks" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1191809463.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1191809463-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Vince Carter, Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 17. Vince Carter</h2>
<p>For much of his career Vince Carter was his team’s star player, the one who got the ball on most possessions and attacked the defense to make something happen. Sometimes that attack got him to the rim and he showed off his incredible dunking ability.</p>
<p>Yet his grip on the star role did not last forever, and to his credit Carter did not try to hold onto it too long. He shifted into being a role player for the second act of his career, acknowledging he had a different spot at the table and therefore extending both his career and his ability to positively impact the game.</p>
<p>One thing Carter was able to do as a veteran role player late in his career was bring up the next generation. He became a coveted player around the league because of his willingness to mentor and pour into younger players. He signed contracts with the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks late in his career as they went through rebuilds, connecting with their young talent and helping to bring them along.</p>
<p>Carter was a beloved teammate who could shift seamlessly from talking with the coach to talking with a rookie teammate. His experience, intelligence and charisma combined to make him excellent at mentoring a young team. All of those gifts can serve him in mentoring a team from the head coach’s chair if he so desires. Recently retired, Carter has plenty of options available to him moving forward.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 16 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429556" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1187459684.jpeg" alt="Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1187459684.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1187459684-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Udonis Haslem, Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 16. Udonis Haslem</h2>
<p>The cat is out of the bag when it comes to Udonis Haslem. A member of the Miami Heat since 2004, Haslem was at one point the team’s starting power forward. He transitioned into a backup over a decade ago, and it has been years since he had a regular spot in the rotation.</p>
<p>Why is he still in the league, then, especially on a team in Miami that loves to cycle through fliers with their end-of-the-roster spots? It’s because in Haslem the Heat coaching staff can put one of their own inside the locker room to help bring teams along.</p>
<p>Haslem is truly already a Heat assistant coach, just one who wears a jersey on game day instead of a suit. He connects easily with other players, and when a teammate may be struggling with a concept or reticent to take the advice of the head coach, Haslem can help bridge the gap.</p>
<p>It is widely expected that at some point soon Haslem will stop playing, and he should immediately join the Heat coaching staff. Other former Heat big men have thrived as head coaches, including Haslem’s former teammate in Juwan Howard who is now the head coach at Michigan. That same path is before Haslem.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 15 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429557 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1188346321.jpeg" alt="JJ Redick" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1188346321.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1188346321-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">JJ Redick, Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 15. JJ Redick</h2>
<p>Part of the job in being an NBA head coach is the ability to communicate. You can have all the strategical insight in the world, but if you can’t translate that into something digestible by your team, then you have not helped your team win. You can understand what a player is doing wrong, but if you come in too bluntly, aggressively, dismissively or even too passively, it may not matter and could even get worse.</p>
<p>Communication skills are therefore key in coaching, and how to speak about important concepts in a way others can understand. That is why many head coaches are also successful in basketball media; Steve Kerr, Mark Jackson, Stan Van Gundy and Steve Nash all spent time in the booth before getting their most recent NBA job.</p>
<p>JJ Redick is spending time “in the booth” already as a player, hosting his own podcast. He doesn’t simply hit record and start talking with his friends; he carefully crafts each episode, interviews guests professionally, and pulls back the curtain to NBA life in a way that is approachable by the general public.</p>
<p>Redick is well-spoken and articulate without being pretentious or distant. He has been a well-loved teammate at multiple stops, a veteran who works hard every day to hold onto his spot in the league despite middling athletic abilities and a short wingspan. One of the best shooters in league history, he could join the likes of Kerr in going from sniper to media to coaching.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 14 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429558 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1209734230.jpeg" alt="George Hill" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1209734230.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1209734230-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">George Hill, Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 14. George Hill</h2>
<p>Being a head coach in the NBA is not simply understanding offenses and defenses and teaching your players how to do both. That is certainly part of it, and a longtime point guard such as George Hill understands the game of basketball.</p>
<p>What a coach also has to do is bring emotional intelligence to the table in guiding a team of 15 or more disparate personalities into forming a cohesive whole. How should a coach respond when a player deals with the loss of a loved one? How do they guide a team past internal strife? What do they say when external factors such as injustice weigh heavily on the emotions of a team of players?</p>
<p>Hill has proven that he has that high threshold of emotional intelligence, especially through his words and actions during the past year or so as the nation has wrestled with topics of race and justice. He has been a vocal leader for his teammates and for the basketball community as a whole.</p>
<p>Something Hill can leverage to be an elite coach in this way are his times playing under coaches with this gifting. From Gregg Popovich in San Antonio to Doc Rivers in Philadelphia, Hill has played for coaches who understand how to reach players and care for them emotionally as well as teaching them how to win basketball games. That has clearly had an impact on him, and he has something that some coaches do not to help him on that path.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 13 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429559" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1306886881.jpeg" alt="Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1306886881.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1306886881-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Ricky Rubio, Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 13. Ricky Rubio</h2>
<p>A player or coach can certainly teach themselves how to read a defense. They can watch hundreds of hours of film, play in games, and over time develop the ability to look at a defense and recognize what they are trying to accomplish. Good head coaches are able to do this and put together a plan to attack a defense moving forward.</p>
<p>Yet what for most of the league’s players and coaches takes time and effort, a select few can do as naturally as breathing. Ricky Rubio is an incredible passer, with an instinctual understanding of how defenses work and the anticipation to react with the defense to take advantage of small openings to set up his teammates for shots.</p>
<p>The problems for Rubio have been injuries and a shaky jump shot, and they will limit his playing time at this point in his career. That doesn’t take away from his table-setting abilities, the anticipatory passes and the manipulation of opposing defenses.</p>
<p>That ability will make him an intuitive offensive coach, should he desire to follow that path one day. His charisma will help him connect with players, and his view of the game will give him something to impart. While it’s no guarantee of coaching success, Rubio does bring something natural that not every person has.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 12 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429560" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312182692.jpeg" alt="Andre Iguodala, Miami Heat" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312182692.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312182692-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Andre Iguodala, Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 12. Andre Iguodala</h2>
<p>Andre Iguodala is a true scholar of basketball. The long-limbed wing is gifted with a number of physical gifts, and that could have been something he leaned on for a basketball career. His natural talent is palpable and if he focused on offense he could have likely led a team for a few years in his prime.</p>
<p>Iguodala is now out of his prime, but he is still a valuable player in the league. He also has a Finals MVP award sitting in his trophy case. The reason is that Iguodala did not rest on his athletic laurels, but instead studied hard to become one of the league’s smartest defenders.</p>
<p>He has leveraged that ability to excel in any defensive matchup. Facing LeBron James? He knows to give him space and take away the drive, to match his physicality if he tries to back inside and to goad him into taking the jumper. Facing James Harden? Take away his left hand, crowd him, but keep your hands down not to foul. Kevin Durant? Be physical in denying him the ball, then when he does have it body him down low and contest high. Iguodala knows all of the tricks because he put in the work.</p>
<p>Iguodala won that Finals MVP on the back of defending LeBron James for a series. He was part of a committee that denied James Harden four times in the playoffs. His knowledge of defense is something he can impart as a coach, and there are few players in the league able to do that better than Iguodala.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 11 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429561" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1317665192.jpeg" alt="Marc Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1317665192.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1317665192-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Marc Gasol, Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 11. Marc Gasol</h2>
<p>In football, the quarterback has the ball in his hands and runs the offense; point guards often get that comparison when on offense in basketball. The flip side is on the defensive end, where a linebacker or safety stands back off the line and can direct the defense accordingly. For basketball, that role goes to the center.</p>
<p>Marc Gasol is the unique player who can fill both of those roles and do so well. Defensively he is one of the league’s smartest big man defenders, able to direct the defense around him while walling off the rim. He knows where to be to contest without being pulled too far to give up the lob or putback, and he knows where to tell his teammates to be to prevent leaks. While he hasn’t always played with plus defenders, he has been able to maximize them as the coach on the backline.</p>
<p>Gasol also has the knowledge and ability to run the offense. He would often operate out of the high post, directing traffic and hitting teammates on cuts and off of screens. He had an All-NBA season in 2015 with just this level of two-way leadership and production, and in 2019 he won a title with the Toronto Raptors.</p>
<p>That means that Gasol would bring with him experience running both parts of an NBA team. While his strongest gifts are on defense he has a strong holistic grasp of the big picture. Add in his championship experience and he has a lot to offer a potential team as a coach. It would not be a surprise to see Gasol coaching the Spanish National Team soon after retirement, and down the road even helming an NBA team of his own.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 10 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429562" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1301501021.jpeg" alt="Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1301501021.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1301501021-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Kyle Lowry, Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 10. Kyle Lowry</h2>
<p>We have talked about a lot of various factors that lend themselves to a strong future head coach. Point guards have the experience of knowing every facet of an offense and where players will be at any time. Star players have elite skills and cache with other players even post-career.</p>
<p>Leadership principles that are effective in guiding a team translate to coaching it. Winning championships builds a blueprint for how to help a team get back. Players who start on the fringes of the league and have to fight hard to earn a spot display a work ethic that will serve them well as a coach. Playing under an elite coach can serve as a sort of functional mentorship about how to coach themselves.</p>
<p>Kyle Lowry checks all of these boxes emphatically. A late first-round pick out of Villanova, where he played under Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright. He struggled at first to carve out a consistent rotation spot, but then rose to become an All-NBA player and six-time All-Star. He is the unquestioned emotional leader of the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won a championship in 2019. Nick Nurse, although a relatively new NBA head coach, has proven to be one of the best in the league already.</p>
<p>Lowry still has plenty to offer NBA teams, but he is 35 and will need to retire sometime in the near future. It would be an easy transition for him to step into coaching, bringing his brand of hustle and leadership to a team from the sideline.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 9 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429270" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2200,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1310684830.jpeg" alt="Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks" width="3200" height="2200" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310684830.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310684830-768x528.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Jrue Holiday, Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 9. Jrue Holiday</h2>
<p>We have discussed a number of principles that are important to coaching, from work ethic to offensive experience to leadership abilities. A player such as Jrue Holiday certainly hits these beats, a point guard with defensive chops who is comfortable speaking up to encourage his team forward.</p>
<p>One that we haven’t is compassion and empathy. Being able to connect on a personal level with players is important for a coach, whether that is for motivation or to care for them as a person. Especially for young players entering the league, they may not have a support network in place, and their coaches can help to fill that void.</p>
<p>Holiday has demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence and compassion. He and his wife Lauren Holiday, an Olympic gold medalist with the women’s national soccer team, have led out with a number of charitable causes, of note their “<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://www.jlhfund.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund</a>” that provides grants to Black led non profits and businesses.</p>
<p>The Holidays have gone through difficult times themselves, with Lauren being diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant with the couple’s first child. Jrue took time away from basketball to care for her, and thankfully the tumor was benign and everyone is doing well. Times of suffering show a person’s character, and how Holiday prioritized his family and came out the other side active in caring for others speaks highly of him.</p>
<p>Players in the league respect Holiday, and he has earned that respect. His character, compassion and empathy, combined with his natural gifts and experience, all combine to make him an excellent coaching candidate should he choose to pursue that life after retirement.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 8 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429563" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1110,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1299023218.jpeg" alt="Gordon Hayward, Charlotte Hornets" width="1600" height="1110" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299023218.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299023218-768x533.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Gordon Hayward, Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 8. Gordon Hayward</h2>
<p>Twice in his career Gordon Hayward has played under head coach Brad Stevens, first at Butler University and later with the Boston Celtics. As a rookie he played under the late Jerry Sloan. After that he played for Quin Snyder, one of the best tactical minds in the game.</p>
<p>Hayward hasn’t simply played for these elite head coaches, but he has grown and developed under them. Far from just a scorer, he has become a strong passer who reads the floor with or without the ball. Defensively he isn’t leaning on elite physical gifts but rather his knowledge of where to be.</p>
<p>Those on-court gifts have paired with his leadership ability to make an impact at multiple stops for Hayward. Joining the Charlotte Hornets this past offseason, he became a veteran leader on a young team and helped propel them up the standings and into the play-in game. Were Hayward not injured to close the year, they likely would have made the playoff bracket proper.</p>
<p>Hayward has plenty of experience to draw on from his time under these coaches, and his intelligence and ability to articulate his thoughts will serve him well on the sideline.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 7 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-427364" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1232467173.jpeg" alt="Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232467173.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232467173-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Kemba Walker, Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 7. Kemba Walker</h2>
<p>Hayward’s brief teammate on the Boston Celtics is another clear candidate to one day be a head coach. Kemba Walker is most well known for his incredible run in college, leading UConn from the bottom of the Big East bracket all the way to the NCAA Tournament title. His personal shot-making heroics were the thing of legend.</p>
<p>As a small point guard, Walker couldn’t rely on physical gifts or hope for constant heroics. Instead he worked hard to improve on defense, as a playmaker and as an outside shooter. The result has been four All-Star appearances, first trying to pull up a flawed roster in Charlotte and more recently with the Boston Celtics.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Walker, his body has failed him at times and he missed much of the past season with a knee injury. When he has played he has clearly looked like less than his best self. Rather than wallow in self misery or turn internal, Walker has been a vocal part of the team even when not playing. Specifically, he has come alongside the team’s young players to help bring them along.</p>
<p>Walker has shown as a point guard he understands how to direct play and find the weak spots in an opposing defenses. He knows the hard work involved in continually improving as a player. When he does retire an avenue as a player development coach who builds into a head coach would fit his talents and what he is already doing as a veteran leader for the Boston Celtics.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 6 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429543" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1218,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1314682422.jpeg" alt="Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns" width="1600" height="1218" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1314682422.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1314682422-768x585.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Devin Booker, Photo by Elsa/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 6. Devin Booker</h2>
<p>Some players get to play under the same head coach for their careers, growing under a successful coaching mind as they build on experience and knowledge to continue improving. Others may change teams or have their team change coaches, which can be both a potential positive and a potential negative.</p>
<p>Devin Booker is at the extreme of that, playing for five coaches in just six seasons in the league. That means five different systems, five different coaching styles, five times starting new. That turnover could waylay a young player, robbing them of the foundation from which to build their career. Perhaps it did slow things down for Booker in some way. But rather than flounder he has flourished, and led the Phoenix Suns to the playoffs for the first time in his career.</p>
<p>Booker is primarily a scorer, able to manipulate defenses and find his spots to hit shots from anywhere on the court. Yet to say he’s simply a scorer misses the development in his game, as he has gone from dependent scorer to primary initiator.</p>
<p>With that role has come increased playmaking, and Booker has not shied away from that task. Instead he has grown as a passer, until he is one of the league’s better wing distributors. In his first career playoff series the Los Angeles Lakers had to throw double teams at him to slow him down, and he responded by getting his teammates involved on the biggest stage, even against the league’s top defense.</p>
<p>As his career progresses, hopefully with some coaching stability, he should continue to flourish as a rising and future star. His offensive ability, leadership and intelligence are all pieces of being a star but also of being a coach. Booker can bring lessons learned from a half decade of coaching turnover to bear when he gets his chance down the road.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 5 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-429542" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2004,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1232853112.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2004" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232853112.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232853112-768x481.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Rudy Gobert, Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 5. Rudy Gobert</h2>
<p>The Stifle Tower. The French Rejection. The Gobert Report. If having great nicknames was a boost to coaching, Rudy Gobert would be a lock to dominate the league. Yet the reason he has those excellent nicknames is that he is one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history.</p>
<p>Gobert guards the backline like few in league history, blocking shots and convincing countless ball handlers to not shoot at all. The Utah Jazz have continued to trade defense for offense across the roster, confident Gobert can create an elite defense by himself. Thus far he has answered the bell, and won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards in the process.</p>
<p>Elite big man defenders have made the transition to coaching throughout NBA history. From Bill Russell to Patrick Ewing to Juwan Howard, some of the league’s best rim protectors have gone on to become great coaches.</p>
<p>That path is available for Gobert as well, who can move from coordinating a defense on the court to coordinating it from off the court. Playing for Quin Snyder can only help him develop as a future coach, and he still has plenty career left to grow as well.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 4 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-419505 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1084,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1293534977.jpeg" alt="Rajon Rondo" width="1600" height="1084" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1293534977.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1293534977-768x520.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Rajon Rondo, Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 4. Rajon Rondo</h2>
<p>In the realm of active players, a select few veterans are coaches in all but names, bringing a long career of experience and a willingness to be vocal to bear in pouring into the next generation of players. Rajon Rondo is moving around the league (eight teams and counting) providing his brand of veteran leadership to a variety of teams.</p>
<p>Rondo cut his teeth alongside a bevy of Hall of Fame players: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. His coach at the time, Doc Rivers, is one of the most respected in the league. Rondo grew into the team’s leader as the “Big 3” moved on, and then began to tour the league, changing teams just about every offseason.</p>
<p>One of the game’s best passers, Rondo sees the entire court and can move his teammates around the court to manipulate defenses and open up pockets for passes to set up open shots. Perhaps to a fault, Rondo knows how to be patient and find the right moment to set up a player to score – and give him the assist.</p>
<p>Rondo is far removed from his prime guarding the opposing team’s best scorer, but he still has the defensive know-how to play and teach defense. He has won two titles and competed for multiple others. At the end of the day, Rondo has seen it all, and if he chooses to go into coaching as the latest point guard to make the jump, he is set up to be successful.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429541 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1215,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1194195782.jpeg" alt="LeBron James" width="1600" height="1215" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1194195782.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1194195782-768x583.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">LeBron James, Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 3. LeBron James</h2>
<p>The ability of a head coach is to see five steps ahead of the opponent and viewing the big picture is critical to leading a team through a long season and especially through the postseason. LeBron James has proven through his long career that he possesses this ability at a high level.</p>
<p>That comes on the court, when LeBron James can trick a defense into doing his will as he hits the open shot or an open teammate. Defensively he baits opposing offenses into committing one way, then comes out of nowhere to steal the ball or block the shot.</p>
<p>It’s off the court that James has truly shown the ability to predict the future. From turning down a contract with Adidas as a teenager to land a massive payday with Nike, to building his own media empire, to controlling his destiny as a free agent. James – in addition to being an elite playmaker, engaging personality, vocal leader and carrying as much championship equity as a modern player can – will always keep his teams on the front edge of innovation.</p>
<p>The world is open for James when he retires. He could lean into his media empire developing projects, run for political office, or become the owner of a sports team in full. Yet if James decides to go into coaching, he would be one of the best predictive minds to enter the profession.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429540 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2106,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1184954401.jpeg" alt="Draymond Green" width="3200" height="2106" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1184954401.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1184954401-768x505.jpeg 768w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1184954401-850x560.jpeg 850w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Draymond Green, Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 2. Draymond Green</h2>
<p>In 2019-20 the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://bluemanhoop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden State Warriors</a> were in an unexpected valley after years on the mountaintop. With Kevin Durant gone in free agency, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry out with injuries and LeBron James now dominating the Western Conference as he once did the East, the Warriors stumbled to the worst record in the league.</p>
<p>Draymond Green, the lone All-Star remaining, did not bring his usual verve to every game, which is both a window into his personality and somewhat understandable for a player used to competing for titles. Yet Green did not waste the year, as he developed a skill playing alongside rookies and longshots: how to teach.</p>
<p>Green has always been vocal on the defensive end of the court, but last year he had to learn how to pass his knowledge on to others. No longer was he playing with Durant and Thompson and Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut (wow those Warriors were flush with talent); he was playing with Marquese Chriss and Jordan Poole. He had to teach them the path to excellence.</p>
<p>That has carried over as the Warriors have moved back towards relevance. He has stepped in to speak in huddles, mapped out strategy, and gone one-on-one with young players to aid their development. While Green has a career waiting for him in the media, he likewise has one waiting for him in the coaching ranks.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 1 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-429539 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2135,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1310019798.jpeg" alt="Chris Paul" width="3200" height="2135" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310019798.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310019798-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Chris Paul, Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>NBA: 30 players who should be coaches someday 1. Chris Paul</h2>
<p>The ultimate coach on the court, Chris Paul is a shoo-in to be a high-level head coach should he choose to follow that path. For his entire career, Paul has been developing the traits that would help him to excel in the coaching ranks.</p>
<p>Of obvious relevance are his abilities as the offensive general, running the offense as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. Paul is a threat to score from all three levels, which allows him to manipulate defenses and find the open man. 13 times Paul has ranked in the top-5 in the league in assists per game, and his 10,275 assists are the fifth-most all-time.</p>
<p>Interestingly, of the four players above him on that career assists list, all have been coaches since retiring from the NBA. Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Mark Jackson all in the NBA, and Stockton – in classic Stockton fashion – at small schools at various levels, out of the spotlight.</p>
<p>Paul is a clear veteran leader of his teams, even if he can ride his teammates too hard. He has played for some of the best coaches out there, including Mike D’Antoni, Doc Rivers and now Monty Williams. That brings a combination of offensive and defensive strategy along with leadership and emotional intelligence.</p>
<p>Paul is a gifted communicator, has been active in player union leadership, and is one of the best point guards ever. He is still playing at a high level even at the age of 36, but when he retired one avenue that will be wide open for him is to coach in the NBA.</p>
<p>Paul headlines a long group of talented, intelligent players who could all step into coaching upon retirement. The league is stocked with potential, both on-court and off of it, and it will be exciting which players leverage their natural giftings, experience and work ethic to make a name for themselves on the sidelines.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA History: 25 greatest performances in NBA Finals history" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/06/nba-finals-greatest-performances/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/12/nba-30-players-coaches-someday/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/06/nba-finals-greatest-performances/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA History: 25 greatest performances in NBA Finals history </a> </div>
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