Nets’ Steve Nash joins list of NBA head coaches with no prior coaching experience

At his Hall of Fame induction in 2018, Steve Nash said, “You’ll never be more alive than when you give something everything you have.”

Except Nash hadn’t lived that way professionally since retiring in 2013.

He served as a player-development consultant for the Warriors. He oversaw Canada’s national team. He did some TV work.

But none of those were full-time pursuits.

Nash has an exhaustive job now, though. The Brooklyn Nets shockingly hired him as head coach. He’ll take over a team that – with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and assets to chase a third star – has legitimate championship aspirations.

Most NBA head coaches prepare for the job by… coaching. Maybe as an assistant. Maybe in college. Maybe at another level. But coaching somewhere.

It’s a helpful way to learn the trade. Obviously, Nash carries incredible basketball intelligence from his playing career. But coaching requires different skills, and actually coaching offers great perspective on the tedious work involved.

That’s not an absolute prerequisite, though.

Since the league’s last player-coach (Dave Cowens with the 1978-79 Celtics), 16 people have become NBA head coaches without prior coaching experience:

Year	Team	Coach	Seasons	W	L	PCT	Playoff appearances	Series won
2020	BRK	Steve Nash	?	?	?	?	?	?
2014	NYK	Derek Fisher	2	40	96	29%	0	0
2014	GSW	Steve Kerr	6	337	138	71%	5	18
2013	BRK	Jason Kidd	1	44	38	54%	1	1
2011	GSW	Mark Jackson	3	121	109	53%	2	1
2008	CHI	Vinny Del Negro	2	82	82	50%	2	0
2005	MIN	Kevin McHale	1	19	12	61%	0	0
2000	IND	Isiah Thomas	3	131	115	53%	3	0
1999	ORL	Doc Rivers	5	171	168	50%	3	0
1997	IND	Larry Bird	3	147	67	69%	3	7
1995	BOS	M.L. Carr	2	48	116	29%	0	0
1994	LAL	Magic Johnson	1	5	11	31%	0	0
1993	DAL	Quinn Buckner	1	13	69	16%	0	0
1992	DEN	Dan Issel	3	96	102	48%	1	1
1987	PHO	Dick Van Arsdale	1	14	12	54%	0	0
1980	SDC	Paul Silas	3	78	168	32%	0	0

Good luck drawing any sweeping conclusions from that list. It includes smashing successes (like Kerr and Bird) and clear failures (like Fisher and Buckner). Most of the coaches land between.

They all brought unique experiences to the job. All were NBA players. But some were executives. Some were broadcasters. Some jumped straight from playing.

Nash’s work in Golden State should familiarize him with the teaching aspects of coaching. His time with Team Canada should help with the necessary organization. His playing career, which included MVP point guarding with the Suns, should ready him as a tactician.

But there are so many new aspects for a first-time coach – connecting with players from a new angle, handling the pressure of being in charge, focusing on the work amid the long grind of a season.

It’ll take everything Nash has.

Which sounds like exactly what he wants.