2. Mike D’Antoni
Coming to the NBA in 1973 as a second-round draft pick, Mike D’Antoni played for the Kings during the Kansas City-Omaha Kings era. The point guard's NBA playing career did not last very long, but he was incredibly successful overseas, winning several championships.
As a coach, he was much more successful at the NBA level. D’Antoni started his coaching career in Italy, where he won several more championships, but returned to the NBA in 1997.
Since then, he has been an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns, and the Brooklyn Nets as well as a head coach for the Nuggets, Suns, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and the associate head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He coached star players like Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Carmelo Anthony, Metta World Peace, and Kobe Bryant during his long coaching career.
In 2005 and 2017, he was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year and was an All-Star Game head coach in 2007 and 2018. Several of his teams went to the Conference Finals or Conference Semifinals.
D’Antoni’s coaching career ended in 2021, and he is now a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans.