At the start of this season, there were only 7 black coaches out of 30 in the NBA, and that was almost half as much as in 2013. And when the Wolves replaced Ryan Saunders with Chris Finch, voices s ‘were opposed to this choice, made by the Minneapolis franchise without any maintenance.
Today, seven teams are looking for a coach, and these are all opportunities to balance the situation in terms of diversity, in a sport where 82% of players are black (2019 statistics). Especially since the 2021 playoffs show that the black coaches succeed with three of them in the conference final: Tyronn Lue, Nate McMillan and Monty Williams.
“Three of the four remaining coaches are black coaches, and that says a lot about the way we coach” Tyronn Lue explained on Saturday. “I hope we can stop being looked down upon and that we can build and pave the way for other young black coaches. I think there are a lot of openings this summer, and I hope a lot of GMs and owners will see that black coaches are good coaches and I hope they will give the young coaches who come in today a chance. ‘hui. “
Doc Rivers, the model
Does Tyronn Lue feel any particular pressure as a black coach? “I don’t think there is any extra pressure but I want to do well so that they can continue to see it. Like I said, I learned from Doc Rivers and was lucky enough to be with him for so long and see how he carried that load and how he responded to a lot of different things, a lot criticism. Winning the championship, not being a great team… So I learned a lot from him and I hope to be able to do the same for these young coaches who are arriving. “
The good news is that there would be real awareness among the leaders, especially among the Celtics, Wizards or Pelicans, and there are very many of them currently in interviews, whether it is about Chauncey Billups, Darvin Ham, Jason Kidd or Willie Green, Brian Shaw, Jamahl Mosley and Ime Udoka.
“There are so many good candidates” insists Monty Williams, the coach of the Suns. “Willie Green is speaking to teams as we speak. There’s Darvin, Sam Cassell, Chauncey. These are guys who when I look at them and talk to them and think back to when I was in them are so far ahead of me. I say to myself: “Wow! These guys deserve a chance. And I had two jobs. Whenever I get the chance, I try to promote these guys. And if I can help them when they are in the process or hope to be… I remember where I was at the same stage as them. I think of the intelligence of Willie, Chauncey, Darvin and Sam. It’s pretty cool to see them mentioned. People take care of them and I hope they will have their chance. “
Phoenix, the only franchise with a GM / black coach tandem
Finalist for the trophy of the best coach, Monty Williams allowed the Suns to clinch their first division title since 2007, and to end a decade of waiting by qualifying the franchise in the playoffs. Above, James Jones has just been voted best manager of the year, and he is the only GM / black coach tandem in the entire NBA.
For Devin Booker, this diversity is also one of the keys to the success of the Suns.
“People understand what’s going on and realize who the real brains of basketball are” Devin Booker concludes. “They devote countless hours to their art and their work. They know these situations from having experienced them in the field before. It is easier for them to talk to us when they understand where we are from. This connection between the GM, the coach and the players is very important if you want to win big ”.
