https://arizonasports.com/nba/phoenix-suns/mike-dantoni-hof/3616735/

Former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni will be heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the star-studded class of 2026, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

He led the Suns from 2002 to 2008, taking home NBA Coach of the Year honors for his work in the 2004-05 season with Phoenix posting a 62-20 regular-season record and losing in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs.

…

Known for his “7 Seconds or Less” offense, D’Antoni played a pivotal role in setting the standard of up-tempo basketball.

He will join a class that includes former Suns center Amar’e Stoudemire, Candance Parker, Elena Delle Donne and Doc Rivers.

Jaded-Sapphire3546 | Thunder

53 | 7 hours ago

Well deserved. Very few people have had a greater impact on the evolution of basketball around the world. In both Phoenix and Houston, he implemented two different offensive systems that helped shape the next 5-10 years of offensive basketball. Less heralded though, are the innovations he and his staff made defensively in Houston with their switch everything scheme and cross match hunting in transition; Jeff Bzdelik deserves considerable credit for that system.

bootywizard42O | NBA

14 | 6 hours ago

His Houston teams will forever remain underrated imo. He had the balls to go against the grain and the brains to make his style work. An absolute legend.

Runnroll

-8 | 7 hours ago

D’Antoni never did shit about defense when he coached the Suns. That’s why Pop was always able to slow his teams down.

Olepat

47 | 7 hours ago

Much like Steve Nash, D’antoni kinda gets slandered by nephews who didn’t watch those Suns teams he led. Some of the most fun basketball of that era and played a big part in what we see today offensively

thenextchapter26

7 | 7 hours ago

He was the pioneer of fast-paced, lob city basketball

First-Throat-877

-1 | 7 hours ago

More like 4th wave

solythe | NBA

5 | 7 hours ago

they anchored TNT thursdays for years because of how fun they were to watch

koala37

1 | 4 hours ago

some of the most fun basketball ever! turned a bottom of the barrel team into must-see tv. I’ll never forget it

First-Throat-877

-17 | 7 hours ago

He doesnt get slandered enough lol. They put his ass in the hall.

Airknight_Parshath | Kings

5 | 7 hours ago

Nah, he led some very good teams to some deep playoff finishes

First-Throat-877

0 | 7 hours ago

Lots of coaches do. Mike went as far as he could go.

Runnroll

-2 | 7 hours ago

Just couldn’t ever get to the Finals because Pop repeatedly exposed his teams lack of defense by slowing the game down.

koala37

2 | 4 hours ago

bro going from being a Mavs fan and then following Nash when he went to the Suns I watched the Spurs eliminate my teams and dominate the conference for the better part of a decade. between the Spurs and Lakers, for so many years the de facto finals series took place in the western conference finals

puddl3

22 | 7 hours ago

If Horry didn’t hip check Nash I think the suns would have won it all that year (Diaw and Amarè got suspended for coming off the bench).

Absolute travesty in that regard. His 7 seconds or less suns teams were so much fun to watch. Well deserved imho.

Puppetmaster858 | Suns

15 | 7 hours ago

He had horrible luck as a coach, Joe Johnson gettin his face destroyed, the Horry shit/suspensions, cp3 hurting his hammy against the warriors in the last minute right as they go up 3-2. He really just had some ridiculously unfortunate stuff happen that was completely out of his control

puddl3

2 | 7 hours ago

As a mavs fan until the Luka trade, totally forgot about that. I watched that live and it was sad to see too. I loved suns Joe Johnson and that really was a wrench too.

Puppetmaster858 | Suns

2 | 6 hours ago

That shit was brutal, felt bad for Joe and just the team in general, he was a very important piece of that team.

puddl3

4 | 6 hours ago

At least Joe had a really good career. It’s funny. The suns should have offered a way less insulting contract to him considering how he developed and played for them. Sorta like how the mavs should have done the same for Nash (but idk if they would have won their only chip regardless, it is a curious musing to me at least).

Puppetmaster858 | Suns

1 | 3 hours ago

It was definitely a mistake to let him walk, I honestly think we might’ve won at minimum one title because he was really good with a ton of potential and outside of Nash/amar’e/marion he was by far the next best guy from that era. That will always be a giant suns what if. You comparing it to Nash is a solid comp even tho Nash was obviously better, okc and harden is another good comp too. Obviously Joe wasn’t Nash or harden all time great level but he was a really damn good all star level player for years

Runnroll

-5 | 7 hours ago

Suns had a 15 pt lead in game 6 with Amare back. They had plenty of chances to extend that to 7 and didn’t. Meanwhile Horry was still out.

CP3 going out shouldn’t have made so much difference that they lost the next two.

Both those situations would be called bad coaching due to lack of adjustments.

Puppetmaster858 | Suns

4 | 6 hours ago

Cp3 going out against one of the greatest teams ever shouldn’t have made much of a difference? Absolutely insane take

Runnroll

-2 | 6 hours ago

That Houston team was no slouch either. D’Antoni was always bad at making adjustments and also had a problem with having too short of rotations in the playoffs. Usually like 7 players max.

Comparatively, 2014 Spurs had Tony Parker go down in game 6 of the WCF against OKC in OKC. Boris Diaw stepped up and had a huge game and that eliminated them. Of course, it helped that Pop actually made adjustments.

Celticsfor18th | BOS

6 | 7 hours ago

The 2018 Rockets were an even better team that would have won the title with more fair officiating in game 7 against the Warriors even past the CP3 injury and cold shooting. They went 52-3 with Capela, CP3 and Harden all healthy in that regular season if I recall correctly.

Slow-Raccoon-9832

3 | 7 hours ago

It’s debatable if that rockets team was better than the 06/07 suns

Runnroll

-2 | 7 hours ago

As a Spurs fan, this theory needs to be put to bed.

Nash admitted years later he flopped.
The Suns had a double digit lead in game 6 with Amare back and STILL lost. Meanwhile Horry was still out.

First-Throat-877

-4 | 7 hours ago

Nash jumped into that scoring table. Blamming Bob for Steve’s flop is silly af.

Runnroll

-1 | 7 hours ago

Yup and Steve admitted it to Raja Bell some years later.

GOATJames_23-6 | LAL

12 | 7 hours ago

Well deserved, changed the game forever

moby323 | 76ers

1 | 7 hours ago

Agree, brilliant basketball mind

FERFreak731 | Jazz

7 | 7 hours ago

I’m glad for those 3 people, Mike, Dan, and Tony

MosquitoOfDoom | BOS

4 | 7 hours ago

Are those the famous Tony brothers?

koala37

1 | 4 hours ago

good one I laughed

koiz_01

2 | 7 hours ago

Gambo also said he’s going into the Hall of Fame as a basketball contributor

ExpansionismyFaV

1 | 7 hours ago

His system revolutionized the NBA! People think too much about his later years, where he kind of lost the game and didn’t evolve his system too much! But he is a very good coach and very important to the history of the NBA and basketball as a whole well deserved!

heat_fan_ | Raptors

1 | 7 hours ago

Good for him deserved

SquidwardLover48 | Cavaliers

1 | 7 hours ago

Shout out dan tony

GeorgeRusseIl | Heat

1 | 7 hours ago

Congratulations Coach Pringles

GrandMasterF1ash | Rockets

1 | 7 hours ago

Miss you Dan Tony

Puppetmaster858 | Suns

2 | 7 hours ago

Well deserved, he helped change the game. Also just insanely unlucky with stuff like horry hip check/suspensions, cp3 hammy going up 3-2 against warriors, joe johnson face getting wrecked, just some horrible luck that was totally outside of his control.

_MergatroidSkittle | Rockets

1 | 7 hours ago

I love the Pringles man

Funny_Disaster1002

1 | 7 hours ago

D’Antoni, for better or worse, had the biggest impact on professional basketball in the last 20-25. His offense is the blueprint for today’s basketball. He didn’t win championships, but always played the same style. If he didn’t get in the HoF, it would have been a sham.

glamamuser | Lakers

1 | 7 hours ago

Those “7 seconds or less” Suns teams are iconic. Happy for D’Antoni.

Stratys | Spurs

1 | 6 hours ago

Mike AND Dan!?

agentdoubleohio | Suns

1 | 6 hours ago

Double the offense, half the defense still holds true after all these years

Background_Touchdown | Spurs

1 | 6 hours ago

130 games before they became popular

SabraShifter

1 | 6 hours ago

Knicks legend

Saucy_Totchie | Knicks

2 | 5 hours ago

Well deserved with how he revolutionized how basketball is played. The 7SOL Suns were so far ahead of their time. Playing Shawn Marion and Stoudemire at the 4 and 5 was some true visionary stuff. They were so close to pulling it off if it weren’t for Stern’s bitch ass giving Stoudemire and Diaw the softest suspensions after Horry gave a cheap shot to Steve Nash.

nutelamitbutter | Rockets

1 | 4 hours ago

You love to see it!

bubbasnub | Magic

1 | 3 hours ago

hell yeah

ghostofabhelmet | Thunder

-1 | 7 hours ago

At the end of his career is D’antoni going to be more remembered for his stint with the Suns or Rockets? I feel like it’s going to be the rockets especially with how much they changed the game on offense.

koiz_01

5 | 7 hours ago

Did you mix up the teams? Cause he’s 100% remembered for the Suns.

ghostofabhelmet | Thunder

3 | 7 hours ago

He revolutionized offense on both franchises tbh, I just said the rockets because he really pushed the limits on three point shooting on the rockets which I more associate with the modern nba. Though the suns did introduce the pace portion of the nba.

koala37

2 | 4 hours ago

I think Kerr’s talked about it but he says the Dantoni Suns were ahead of their time in terms of seeing where the league was going and were playing that style years before it caught on in the league. he says they’re the forefather of the style that evolved into the modern nba

Coolguynumber01 | Warriors

2 | 7 hours ago

idk i know his Suns were great but that 2018 Rockets team had to be the best team he’s ever coached

GOATJames_23-6 | LAL

1 | 7 hours ago

Houston. MVP Harden will live on and folks will remember the 2018 rockets for being the team to push the 2016-18 warrriors the farthest

Environmental_Elk288

1 | 7 hours ago

Probably the rockets considering that people will remember the rise of the warriors dynasty with the rockets being their biggest rival out in the West and both teams contribution to the 3-pt revolution.

bigbodydenver | Nuggets

-1 | 7 hours ago

Amare made it?

Rasheed and Marion both way more.deserving

koala37

2 | 4 hours ago

rings aside (which, admittedly, is a big aside), Amare’s peak was an absolute nuclear threat. Sheed and Marion were critical two-way pieces on their respective teams but Stoudemire was a monster in ways those guys weren’t

bigbodydenver | Nuggets

1 | 3 hours ago

And both Marion and Rasheed were just better all around players.

Surprised to see amare make it. Pretty short career and no playoff success

Yellow_Evan | Lakers

-3 | 7 hours ago

He sure didn’t coach like one here.

ghostofabhelmet | Thunder

6 | 7 hours ago

Tbf he didn’t have much to work with given that he had a washed Nash, a declining Kobe, and Dwight Howard with back problems.

koala37

1 | 4 hours ago

I took a long break from basketball and when I found out about that era I was like WOW what star power!!!

finding out how they performed was very deflating…it would be like someone out of the game hears about Harden and Kawhi or Embiid and Paul George teaming up and thinking it must be an unstoppable force lol

I had a similar experience with end-of-his-career Shaq. I never saw him over he hill so it was incomprehensible for me to imagine him not being the epicenter of threat on the court

LittlestWeapon | Lakers

-6 | 7 hours ago

Why?

SquidwardLover48 | Cavaliers

2 | 7 hours ago

Because his offensive philosophy revolutionized the game?

DanTheWanderer | Bulls

1 | 7 hours ago

Because he is a legendary coach and his “seven seconds” offense changed the NBA, if not basketball as a whole, forever.

[Gambadoro] Mike D’Antoni is set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026