Steve Nash spent just over two seasons as a head coach in the NBA and it doesn’t seem like he intends on taking that role ever again. During a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the lead-up to his former teammate Goran Dragic’s final game, Nash was asked about his future plans and it’s clear coaching in the NBA isn’t something he plans on doing.
“Coaching was a great experience, I didn’t want to be a career coach,” Nash said. “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 has five children and they are his biggest priority at the moment. The 50-year-old also revealed he never had plans to be a head coach after he retired, but decided to give it a go when the Brooklyn Nets came calling in 2020.
“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”
You wonder if Nash would be drawn to the job if another unique situation comes up. Considering how badly his time with the Nets ended, I wouldn’t blame the two-time MVP if he decided it just wouldn’t be worth it.
After Nash’s 18-year NBA career ended in 2015, the Golden State Warriors hired him as a part-time consultant. He made a positive impression within the building in that role, impressing the likes of Kevin Durant.
Durant would leave the Warriors for the Nets in 2019 and a year later, the franchise came knocking on Nash’s door. The allure of working with Durant and Kyrie Irving meant he took the job but you knew before he even coached his first game that this wouldn’t be a great experience for him.
During a podcast appearance in the 2020 offseason, Irving infamously stated, “I don’t really see us having a head coach… KD could be a head coach. I could be a head coach.” When your star player says that, you know you’re in trouble.
Nash’s first season with the Nets wasn’t a disaster, though. Despite Irving, Durant, and new-acquisition James Harden missing chunks of the campaign due to injury, the team finished with a 48-24 record, the second-best in the East.
The Nets might well have gone on to win the title in 2021 too, but the injury bug struck. Both Irving and Harden missed multiple games in the Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks and as a result, the Nets lost in seven games.
Then the following season, all hell broke loose. Irving refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine while Harden demanded a trade mid-season and was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers. Ben Simmons was the big piece they got in return, but he didn’t play a single game due to a back injury. Amid all the chaos, the Nets went 44-38 and finished as the seventh seed.
They were then swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics and you knew Nash wasn’t going to last much longer after that. In the 2022 offseason, Durant reportedly told ownership to either trade him or fire Nash, but later rescinded his request. It only delayed the inevitable, though, as Nash was let go after the Nets got off to a 2-5 start in 2022-23.
If my first head coaching experience was that, I don’t think I’d be all that keen on returning either, especially if there are no monetary issues. With Nash having made nearly $150 million in salaries during his time in the NBA, he certainly doesn’t need to get back into coaching.
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