Steve Nash has opened up about his time as head coach with the Nets and whether he would ever take the top job at an NBA franchise again.
The Suns legend was somewhat of a surprise hire for Brooklyn in 2020 and after his experience, he says he will never return to a head coaching role in the league.
“Coaching was a great experience, I didn’t want to be a career coach,” Nash explained to Eurohoops. “I don’t think coaching was about to be my career. I’m coaching my kids, teaching them life. I earned the opportunity to choose, and that’s rewarding, There are always projects, affiliates, and partnerships. I always have something going on, I’m focused on my family.”
Nash finished his Nets tenure with a combined 94-67 record (a 58.4 winning percentage, which ranks him second all-time among franchise head coaches).
He spoke about how his expectations as a coach in the league were far different to the actual experience.
The now 50-year-old had the added challenge of coaching the failed Big 3 experiment involving Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
“I hadn’t planned to coach, there was a unique situation in Brooklyn that knocked on my door. It was a quick transition. You deal with a different dynamic. A lot of it is managing personalities, between front offices, players, and agents. That’s a huge component of my job. All the dynamics, personalities, and power that the players hold nowadays…
“The easy part for me was being comfortable with my leadership role, leading by example,” he continued. “What is actually difficult from a coaching perspective is that it’s a totally different leadership. When you’re coaching you have to lead in smaller moments. I was surprised when I coached, you’re not in the team that much. You have five minutes with players before the game, at halftime, and after the game. Those are the only times when you address the team. I wanted to connect with every player individually. Building a culture and environment where people believe and see them be their best is important. You need to feel that you want them to become the best version of themselves.”
Nash was fired from the Nets’ top job just seven games into his third season after a 2-5 start.
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