Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni was born on May 8,1951 and is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association.
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29 Facts About Mike D'Antoni
2.
Mike D'Antoni coached the New York Knicks starting in 2008 before resigning in 2012.
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3.
Mike D'Antoni was signed by the Italian team Olimpia Milano, starting a career that saw him become the club's all-time leading scorer.
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4.
Mike D'Antoni was voted the Italian LBA league's top point guard of all time in 1990, and paced his team to five Italian League titles, two FIBA European Champions Cup titles, two Italian Cups, one FIBA Korac Cup, and one FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
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5.
Mike D'Antoni earned the nickname "Arsene Lupin" because of his ability to steal the ball.
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6.
Mike D'Antoni began his career as head coach for his most loyal club, Olimpia Milan.
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7.
Mike D'Antoni was then chosen to coach Benetton Treviso, another major Italian league basketball club.
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9.
In 2002, Mike D'Antoni made his return to the NBA as a Phoenix Suns assistant under Frank Johnson.
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10.
Mike D'Antoni's style, dubbed "Seven Seconds or Less", was described in a book of that name.
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11.
Mike D'Antoni became the Suns' GM after Bryan Colangelo's departure and passed on the post to Steve Kerr in 2007.
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12.
The Lakers first contacted former Lakers coach Phil Jackson about the opening, but Mike D'Antoni was hired in a unanimous decision by the Lakers front office.
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13.
The Lakers felt that Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced style of play made him a "great fit" for the team, more suitable than Jackson's structured triangle offense.
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14.
Mike D'Antoni was reunited with Nash, who was traded to the Lakers before the season.
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15.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant was familiar with Mike D'Antoni; Bryant as a child knew him when Mike D'Antoni was a star in Italy and Bryant's father was playing there.
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16.
Mike D'Antoni's coaching debut with the Lakers was delayed as he recovered from knee replacement surgery.
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17.
Mike D'Antoni named a new assistant to the Lakers' staff, his older brother Dan, who helped with the practices.
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19.
Mike D'Antoni was glad to be back with Nash, noting his unsuccessful stint with the Knicks without him.
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20.
Mike D'Antoni coached his first 17 games without Nash, who was recovering from a broken leg.
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21.
Mike D'Antoni stressed that the team's focus needed to be on its defense, not offense.
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22.
Mike D'Antoni likened the Lakers to an All-Star team in which "everybody gets the ball and goes one on one and then they play no defense", adding that they "haven't learned that there's a pecking order" where stars need to know their roles.
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23.
Mike D'Antoni eventually dropped his offense and played without any system.
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24.
On December 18,2015, Mike D'Antoni signed with the Philadelphia 76ers to work as associate head coach under Brett Brown.
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25.
On June 1,2016, Mike D'Antoni was named the new head coach of the Houston Rockets.
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26.
Mike D'Antoni reunited with Knicks players Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler on this team as they prepared for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
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27.
Mike D'Antoni's father was a high school basketball coach in West Virginia and Ohio, and was inducted into West Virginia's Sports Hall of Fame.
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28.
Mike D'Antoni is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy, making him the first Italian to lead an NBA team.
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