Mike D'Antoni

Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association. He played high school basketball at Mullens High School in Mullens, West Virginia, then college basketball at Marshall University, suiting up for the Thundering Herd from 1970 to 1973. He was selected by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

As a head coach, D'Antoni became known for favoring a fast-paced, offense-oriented system. While leading the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous year. He went on to coach the New York Knicks beginning in 2008 before resigning in 2012, then was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers seven games into the 2012–13 season. On June 1, 2016, he was named head coach of the Houston Rockets, and he received his second NBA Coach of the Year award for the 2016–17 season. Guards Steve Nash and James Harden each won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award playing under D'Antoni's system.