Net return
Ex-coach returns to Toyota Center for first time since he stepped down
» Mike DA’ ntoni fondly recalls time in Houston.
Mike D’Antoni will return to Toyota Center on Wednesday for the first time since he stepped down as Rockets coach.
He hoped, while looking ahead to Wednesday’s game as a Brooklyn Nets assistant coach, for a future return to Houston to be for good.
D’Antoni has often spoken of his affection for Houston. Tuesday, he said he and his wife, Laurel, have spoken often of making those feelings permanent when he retires from coaching
“We’ll probably be in Houston after everything is over with and live there,” D’Antoni said. “We haven’t found a better city and better people. I’ve got nothing but thanks and gratitude. They were four of the best years of my career.
“Things could change, obviously, but we’ve been talking very seriously about that for a long time.”
D’Antoni no longer owns his home from his four seasons as Rockets coach, but NBA health and safety protocols would have prevented him from going there if he did. He cannot go to his favorite coffee spot, cannot catch up with friends. But when the Nets’ bus pulls into the loading dock, memories will be back and welcome.
“I’m not one to look back,” D’Antoni said. “Basketball, that’s what we do. You change jobs, change cities, change circumstances. Nothing I would regret. I’m really happy about the four years. You just kind of look forward. You can always look backward, but that doesn’t help anybody. Just really appreciated the team when we were in Houston and the time we were able to spend with the community and with the team.”
D’Antoni went 672-527 in 16 seasons with five teams, winning coach of the year honors with the Suns and Rockets. He was a candidate to become the 76ers’ coach, but when that job went to Doc Rivers, he chose to work with Steve Nash, his star guard with the Suns, in Brooklyn.
He said he enjoys the Nets team, which includes a reunion with former Rockets MVP James Harden. Their return to Toyota Center will no doubt stir thoughts of their seasons there — and not just for them.
D’Antoni had the best winning percentage (.682) of any coach in Rockets history, the most wins in any single season (65) and the second-best record in the NBA (one game behind the Toronto Raptors) in his tenure. The Rockets won at least one playoff series in each of D’Antoni’s four seasons, going 28-23 in the postseason in his tenure. They were within one game of the NBA Finals in 2017-18.
“I wouldn’t change those four years,” he said. “It would have been nice if we won a championship. It’s always bittersweet, always mixed emotions, things we wish worked out differently. I’m pretty happy. We’ve got a great team in Brooklyn, and we’re excited about that right now.”
Still, D’Antoni knows from experience that being back will stir “a lot of emotion.” He would not have to be in Toyota Center to have the memories of his time there. But they will be easy consider, even if so much has changed since he left amid health and safety protocols that will not allow him to visit with friends and former colleagues.
“A lot of things will come to mind once I hit Toyota Center,” D’Antoni said. “It’s not the first time I go back to a city where I have great memories.
“My wife and I, we loved Houston, so it feels good. Lot of great memories, a lot of great things. Actually, it’s four years of great memories.”
Someday, he could even come back to town to make new ones.