Longtime NBA coach Mike D’Antoni entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of the Class of 2026. D’Antoni has gone in as a contributor, as his “Seven Seconds or Less” offense revolutionized NBA basketball. We see parts of his philosophy implemented throughout the league now, and as you’d imagine, he’s fairly proud of that offense.
It was with the Phoenix Suns that D’Antoni introduced it, and they had him play a little game at the Hall of Fame. The 75-year-old had to “break the stick” when he heard a better offense than SSOL, and to no one’s surprise, it stayed intact, even when the famed “Triangle Offense” was brought up.
Q: “Flex Offense.”
Mike D’Antoni: “No, no, not even close. Inefficient.”
Q: “Motion offense.”
D’Antoni: “Motion’s not bad, but again, probably inefficient.”
Q: “Dribble drive motion offense.”
D’Antoni: “I like that. I don’t think it’s better, but it’s a part of what we do, so yeah.”
Q: “Small ball.”
D’Antoni: “Actually, that should never be small ball. Somebody coined that term. It’s Skilled Ball. And the taller they are, the better it is. But they have to all have skills like small guys.”
Q: “Princeton Offense.”
D’Antoni: “No.”
Q: “Triangle offense.”
D’Antoni: “Yeah, right. Give me Michael Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen. It’s good, but I think in today’s game, it’s pretty inefficient.”
Q: “Post-centric offense.”
D’Antoni: “Nah. You can use some of it, you can incorporate it, but it’s again a little bit inefficient.”
Q: “Steve Nash and Amar’e [Stoudemire] pick-and-roll.”
D’Antoni: “Probably done as well as anybody. [John] Stockton, [Karl] Malone, you could make it. So other than that, those two duos, but it’s really good. This is not going to break. You know that!”
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They should have known indeed. D’Antoni was never picking anything over SSOL.
D’Antoni had introduced this offense in the 2004-05 season with the Suns and rocked the NBA. They played fast (putting up a shot within seven seconds), shot more threes than anyone else, and went small. Sound familiar?
Now, the Suns had finished the 2003-04 season with a 29-53 record. D’Antoni had taken over as head coach during the season and had stuck more to the traditional ways. He then unleashed this offense after Steve Nash was signed that offseason.
The Suns started 2004-05 with a stunning 31-4 record and eventually finished 62-20. That offense was built around Nash, one of the greatest playmakers and shooters in NBA history, and he’d win MVP.
The Suns would make it as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2005, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Unfortunately for them, this proved to be a recurring theme.
In D’Antoni’s four seasons with the Suns, they won 232 regular-season games. That’s an average of 58 wins, which is quite impressive, but ultimate glory would elude them.
The Suns made it back to the Western Conference Finals in 2006, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Then in 2007 and 2008, the Spurs knocked them out in the Western Conference Semifinals and the first round, respectively.
D’Antoni would depart after the 2007-08 season, and that was that. An era that promised much ended with no silverware. Injuries and controversial suspensions in 2007 did play a part in that, but the fact was D’Antoni failed to win it all. He would come close with the Houston Rockets years later, but again fell short.
As a result, D’Antoni has gone into the Hall of Fame without a ring, and you’d imagine that stings a bit.
On the flip side, winning was all Phil Jackson did with the “Triangle Offense.” Jackson won 11 championships in total with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, as D’Antoni pointed out, Jackson coached some incredible players. He had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman on the Bulls, and then with the Lakers, he had Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
D’Antoni reckons he’d have won championships, too, if he had Jordan and Pippen. It’s an argument many have put forth to downplay Jackson’s achievements.
It is true that all of Jackson’s success came with those great players. What is also true is that Jordan, Pippen, and Bryant didn’t win a single title without him as their head coach.
Former NBA player John Salley thinks Jordan wouldn’t have won championships without the triangle. While we’ll never know for sure, there is no denying the greatness of that offense.
