The Arizona Republic spoke this week with former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni 1-on-1 ahead of his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 15 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In the first of a two-part series, D’Antoni talks about the achievement, how long his speech will be, selecting his presenters, going in as a contributor instead of a coach, and more.
A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, D’Antoni, 75, won the award in 2004-05 after the Suns won 62 games, then a franchise record, with Steve Nash leading the way as NBA MVP. He also won it in 2016-17 with the Houston Rockets.
On Hall of Fame induction
“Well obviously excited. Really honored. Really honored. The people going in with makes it special. (Amar’e Stoudemire) is going in also, but you
know, it's a pretty special moment.”
Stoudemire played for D’Antoni in Phoenix and with the New York Knicks.
The Class of 2026 is ready to enter the @Hoophall! 👏
— NBA (@NBA) August 10, 2026
Watch the Enshrinement Ceremony Saturday, 8/15 at 7:00pm/et on NBA TV. pic.twitter.com/BjxmUB25i2
On anticipated length of speech
“Well, they've hammered us because now it's being televised live. So they've hammered us to stay within a seven-to-10 minute mark."
Over the years, the speeches have ranged from five minutes to more than 30 minutes. Vlade Divac's speech lasted five minutes in 2019 while Nolan Richardson went more than half an hour in 2014.
"So, I think I'll stay within that, more or less. I told them, though, when they were telling me, cause Amar’e is what, about 40 something years old (43 years old) and so I was telling them, I go, ‘You know, I am 75 years old. I got a lot more years to thank people. So it might be a little bit longer.’”
On selecting his presenters
“Well, each one was responsible, a big part of, you know, getting me into the Hall. Also, prerequisite, you have to be in the Hall of Fame to be able to be a presenter.”
Former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo (‘04), Bob McAdoo (‘00), Nash (‘18), Stoudemire (‘26) and Rod Thorn (‘18) are serving in that role for D’Antoni.
“So obviously, Jerry Colangelo, the Colangelo family, what they did for me in Phoenix, and how that worked out and then also USA Basketball. I've been tied to them for a lot of years and owe them a lot. And then Rod Thorn, who he and Jerry West, growing up, were the two legends in West Virginia when I was a kid and you emulate people.”
From Mullens, West Virginia, D’Antoni played at Marshall University while West and Thorn attended West Virginia University.
“They inspired a lot of kids like me in West Virginia. Rod was coach of the Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA. I’ve known him for 50 years. I used to do his basketball camps. Good friendship. And then Bob McAdoo, who was my teammate in Milan, which I probably owe almost everything to them, for the team in Milan and Treviso, and he was my teammate for four years and we became incredibly close and won a lot of championships together. He's been a really good friend over the years.”
McAdoo was a five-time All-Star who played in the NBA from 1972-86, winning two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He later served as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat.
D’Antoni became the all-time leading scorer for Olimpia Milano and was named the best point guard in league history in 1990.
“And then you got Steve and Amar’e. You know why they are. They’re the ones that got ‘Seven Seconds or Less’ started.”
On going in as a contributor, not a coach
“Just getting in is an honor and that's the biggest thing. I’m definitely not getting in as a player (laughs). Yeah, you're right, I mean, I had the coach to be able to get in. So it is what it is. I think that was the easiest path, but I'm very honored to be able to think that I had an influence on the game enough to be recognized like this.”
On the summer leading up to historic 2004-05 season
“It was actually the first time (as an NBA head coach) because even the year that I spent in Denver, it was a strike year (in 1998-99). We didn't start playing until January. So I didn't have a training camp, and I was brand new, actually, in the NBA after spending 20 years before in Italy. Really just kind of got thrown into the water.”
D’Antoni won two Italian league championships, two Italian Supercup titles and made an EuroLeague Final Four appearance as he shaped his coaching philosophy of playing fast, shooting 3s and playing small ball with skilled talent.
Mike D’Antoni receiving the first of his two NBA Coach of the Year awards 🏆
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) August 10, 2026
2004-05 with Phoenix
2016-17 with Houston
One of 11 coaches to win the award multiple times... D’Antoni enters the @Hoophall Saturday (8/15) at 7:00pm/et on NBA TV & the NBA App! pic.twitter.com/N8vUqtGvqd
He served as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers under Mike Dunleavy Sr. in 2000-01.
“I learned a lot of organizational stuff, about how they do training camp, games, walk-throughs. We did it in Italy, but not to the degree that they did. Then, going back to Italy and have a team like I had, and we win a national title and then got the call from Phoenix.”
D’Antoni returned to the NBA as an assistant with the Suns in 2002-03 under Frank Johnson. He replaced Johnson during the 2003-04 season, going 21-40, as an interim, but began the 2004-05 season as the head coach.
“We just got Steve Nash. (Quentin) Richardson. You have Amar’e and Shawn (Marion) and Joe Johnson and Leandro Barbosa. We had a good team. We're just trying to figure out how do we make the playoffs. And Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) was in L.A. (with the Lakers) at the time, before he got traded."
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 after leading the Lakers to three straight NBA titles (2000-02).
"That summer, he was in LA. And so we had to figure out how we're going to beat those guys, you know, to go deep in the playoffs. It’s just great coaches, good guys around, and we just sat down and planned, and you know, you change, you tweak it. You like this, you don’t like that, but these guys, for whatever reason, the chemistry was right, and the system was right and it just exploded.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mike D'Antoni talks Suns, Hall of Fame induction | Exclusive
