After four winning seasons at the helm of the Houston Rockets, veteran NBA coach Mike D’Antoni released a statement on Sunday announcing that he will not be back with the team in the 2020-21 season after another disappointing playoff exit.
D’Antoni took over in Houston prior to the 2016-17 season as GM Daryl Morey looked for the experienced coach to implement his run and gun style of basketball in a team with superstars like James Harden and Chris Paul.
The West Virginia native undoubtedly took Houston to new heights, achieving three Southwest Division titles and four playoff seasons in his four years coaching the team. Despite making the playoffs every season, he was ultimately unable to guide the team any farther than one lone Conference Finals appearance, falling in the second round of the playoffs in every other season.
D’Antoni’s Rockets managed a 217-102 regular season record during his tenure at the team, the second-highest winning percentage of any team in the league during that stretch.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta only had good things to say about the coach after he announced his departure, stating that “Mike is a true professional and an amazing basketball mind. He is a winner, and we have been blessed to have had such an outstanding coach and leader to work with the past four seasons.”
The Rockets will now embark upon a search for their new head coach, while D’Antoni mulls his future and debates returning to the league at some point in the future.
