Mike D’antoni is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who works as a coaching advisor for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans (NBA). He was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 2004–2005 NBA season, when his team, the Phoenix Suns, won 33 more games than the year before.
He was the coach of the New York Knicks from 2008 until 2012 when he quit. Seven games into the 2012–13 season, the Los Angeles Lakers hired him. On June 1, 2016, D’Antoni became the head coach of the Rockets. For the 2016–17 season, he also won his second NBA Coach of the Year award. [2] D’Antoni is known for liking fast-paced systems that focus on offense.
Early Life of Mike D’Antoni
Michael Andrew D’Antoni was born on May 8, 1951, and grew up in Mullens, West Virginia. He is an Italian-American. He went to high school at Mullens and then went to college at Marshall University in Huntington.
He was already interested in basketball when he was in high school, and that continued through college, where he played for three years on the Marshall Thundering Herd Men’s Basketball team. After college, he was picked up by the NBA and went on to play for several teams in both the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA).
Later, he joined the Italian team “Olimpia Milano,” where he became the top scorer and helped the team win five Italian League titles. Mike D’Antoni was on the shortlist to play for the senior men’s Italian national team at the Eurobasket tournament in Yugoslavia in 1989. This was near the end of his playing career.
How Much Money Does Mike D’antoni Have?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mike D’Antoni is an American coach for professional basketball teams and a former professional player. He has a worth of $12 million. The Kansas City-Omaha Kings took D’Antoni with the 20th pick in the 1973 NBA Draft. From 1973 to 1975, he played for the Kings.
From 1975 to 1976, he played for the Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA. In 1976, he played for the San Antonio Spurs. From 1977 to 1990, he played for the Olimpia Milano team in Italy. During his time as a player, D’Antoni won the Lega Basket Serie A five times and the Euroleague twice.
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Career
In 1990, Olimpia Milano gave him his first job as a coach. After four years, he moved on to coach Benetton Treviso, another Italian team. In 1997, the Denver Nuggets gave him his first job as a coach in the NBA. In 2002, he started working as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns.
The next year, he was promoted to head coach. He was a very important coach who was known for putting a lot of weight on three-point scores. He got the NBA Coach of the Year Award while he was doing this job. Mike D’Antoni was a coach for the USA Olympic Basketball Team and the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where he helped the team win a bronze medal.
As a coach, he also worked for the New York Knicks, but he quit on March 14, 2012. In the same year, he went back to work as an assistant coach for the USA Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He also worked for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named head coach of the Houston Rockets on June 1, 2016.
Career on the National Team
D’Antoni was chosen to be on the coaching staff for Team USA’s Olympic basketball team, which was led by Mike Krzyzewski. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Experts thought that his knowledge of the three-point shot and zone defense, which are important parts of the international game, helped the team.
— Coach Consultant D’Antoni (@Coach_D_Antoni) August 6, 2021
In the summer of 2012, D’Antoni went back to Team USA to work as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski, who was the head coach. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, both of the New York Knicks, were also on this team. They were getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
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Personal Life
Mike D’Antoni’s wife is Laurel D’Antoni, who used to go by the name Liebel. Before she got married to Mike, Laurel was a fashion model. The Ford Modeling agency found her and hired her. Because of this, she went back and forth between New York City, Tokyo, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. She met Mike D’Antoni in 1984, and they began going to games together.
In 1986, they got married and had a son, Michael Alexander, who is their only child. She stopped modeling in 1990 to do a sports show on Italian TV. She soon stopped watching the show and got used to being a wife and mom. She also helped people in the neighborhood where she lives with her family and the Rockets Team as a whole through community service.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a Coach, Has Mike D’antoni Ever Won a Title?
On June 1, 2016, D’Antoni became the head coach of the Rockets. For the 2016–17 season, he also won his second NBA Coach of the Year award. D’Antoni is known for liking fast-paced systems that focus on offense.
When Was D’antoni the Rockets’ Coach?
D’Antoni has been the head coach of five NBA teams: the Denver Nuggets from 1998 to 1999, the Phoenix Suns from 2003 to 2008, the New York Knicks from 2008 to 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers from 2012 to 2014, and most recently, the Houston Rockets (2016-20)
Who Does Mike Antoni Marry?
Laurel D’Antoni is a very beautiful person. She is a beautiful woman who has been to many places. She is married to Mike D’Antoni, who helps coach the New Orleans Pelicans.