The Hall of Fame Case for Mike D’Antoni
It’s time we start acknowledging Mike D’Antoni as a Hall of Fame Coach. D’Antoni has led four teams that broke 3-point records (Phoenix Suns of 2004–05 and 2005–06) and is currently leading the Houston Rockets to another great season…historically speaking, his team is putting up great numbers.
Last season (2017–18), the Rockets finished 65–17. This is first place in the Western Conference but also in the entire league. They also broke the record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 1,184 makes. The previous record for 3-point makes was held by the Rockets of 2016–17 (!) with 1,181. Shooting/point guard James Harden averaged an astounding 30.4 points, 8.8 assists per game, of course taking home the MVP award. Ironically, the Suns were also led by Steve Nash another MVP award winner for two seasons.
Let’s run through some of the records that the Rockets broke in the 2016–17 season:
(Most of which were broken by Harden):
On November 12, James Harden was the first player to record at least 24 points & 12 assists in six consecutive games
On November 14, James Harden was the first player to record 300+ points and 120+ assists in their team’s first 10 games
On November 25, the Rockets shot 50 three-pointers in a win against the Sacramento Kings, setting an NBA record for most 3-pointers attempted in a game, breaking the previous record of 49 set by Dallas in 1996
On November 29, the Rockets made 10+ three-pointers in their 17th consecutive game, setting a NBA record. The streak would last until December 20, ending at 27 straight games.
On December 7, Eric Gordon made eight 3-pointers in a game against the Lakers, marking the most 3's made by a player coming off the bench in franchise history
On December 16, the Rockets made 24 three-pointers on 61 attempts in a win against the Pelicans, both setting a NBA record
On December 31, James Harden recorded 53 points along with 16 rebounds and 17 assists, becoming the first player to record a 50 — 15 — 15 game in NBA history, and tying Wilt Chamberlain for most points scored in a triple-double. It was a new career high in points for Harden as well as tying his career high in assists. The 53 points scored by Harden set a new record for the most points scored on New Year’s Eve in NBA history
The Rockets went 15 — 2 in the month of December, tying their franchise record for most wins in a calendar month (November 1996)
The Rockets made 279 three-pointers in December, shattering the old NBA record of 227 for most 3's made in a single month
The Rockets became the first team since the Golden State Warriors in March 1992 to score 2,000 points in a single calendar month
On January 2, Harden became the first Rockets player to record three straight triple-doubles
On January 6, Harden’s streak of 53 straight games of making a three-pointer came to an end against the Magic, a franchise record for most consecutive games with a 3-pointer
On January 10, Harden became just the fourth player in NBA history record a 40-point triple-double in consecutive games
On January 27, Harden recorded a 51-point, 13 rebound, 13 assist triple-double, becoming the first player in NBA history to record two 50-point triple-doubles in the same season, and tying Oscar Robertson for the most 40-point triple-doubles in a single season with five
On March 1, the Rockets scored 100+ points in their 48th consecutive game, setting a franchise record
On March 4, Eric Gordon made his 180th three-pointer this season as a reserve, setting an NBA record for most three-pointers made by a player off the bench in a season
D’Antoni shaped the way the game of basketball is played in the league by breaking records using the 3-Pointer which inspired other players and teams to shoot the deep ball at a higher clip than seen in previous years. This is Hall of Fame coach behavior. To further understand this, we would have to dive into his Suns teams, which made Mike the pioneer of small ball basketball.
When Mike became the coach for Phoenix in 2003–04, they finished the season 21–40 after 61 games. The next season, the Suns acquired Steve Nash. Nash was a hand-in-glove fit for D’Antoni’s offensive scheme — run and gun, small ball, shoot a lot of 3-pointers. The Suns were first in 3-pointers made (796), first in 3 pointers per game (9.7), 3-point attempts per game (24.7) and total 3-pointers attempts (2026). The Suns scored 110.4 points per game, the next highest scoring average was by Kings at 103.7/game. The league average for points that season was 97.2/game. The average for 3-pointers made was 5.6/game. Lastly, the league average for 3-pointer attempts was 15.8/game.
No team handled the ball the way Suns did that season. As a result of this pioneering system, Steve Nash won the MVP award and D’Antoni won his first Coach of the Year award.
D’Antoni’s coaching style has shaped the NBA and now every team wants to launch deep jumpers. The average for 3-pointers this season is at 11.3/game with 31.9 attempts. The average for scoring is at 111.1/game. But D’Antoni’s Rockets team is still leading the pace, shooting a league best 15.7/44.8 per game. It is time we start to embrace Mike D’Antoni as the pioneer for today’s NBA style.
References
www.NBA.com
The Stop and Pop
Basketball Analysis & Media Outlet
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