Kevin Durant is one of the best players in NBA history. He is a two-time NBA champion, Finals MVP, and onetime NBA MVP. Although he is one of the most polarizing players today, no one can deny his talent has a scorer.
Throughout the years, Durant has played for several coaches in the NBA. Unfortunately, since leaving the Golden State Warriors, Durant hasn’t found any gold, which may be related to the amount of coaching changes he has experienced as of late. Here is a look at Kevin Durant’s 9 NBA coaches, ranked.
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1. Steve Kerr
Steve Kerr is the most successful coach Durant has ever played for. In fact, they won back-to-back NBA championships together. These pair of titles were also the only championships KD has ever won in his career. Durant ultimately thrived under Kerr’s pace and space system, allowing Kerr to top this list.
2. Scott Brooks
Aside from Kerr, the only other NBA coach to ever lead Durant’s team to the NBA Finals was Scott Brooks back in 2012. Brooks was certainly responsible for being a great influential figure in Durant’s first years in the NBA. Under Brooks, KD transformed into a superstar and MVP-caliber player. But more importantly, they both worked together to elevate Oklahoma into a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.
3. Monty Williams
The last time Durant ever got past the first round was back in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Around that season, Durant was surprisingly traded at the deadline in a blockbuster deal that saw him take his talents to the Phoenix Suns. Although it was only a brief partnership, Durant did relatively well under Williams, averaging 26.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
The Suns were also able to get past the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round before conceding to the Denver Nuggets in six games. Williams was surprisingly fired after the 2022-23 season.
4. Kenny Atkinson
Kenny Atkinson’s firing from the Brooklyn Nets certainly raised some questions. He had just led the Nets to a 42-40 record and took them to the postseason as the seventh seed even with Durant still out and Kyrie Irving being less than 100%. However, it’s a shame that Atkinson was already fired before Durant could even return to the court as a Net.
In fact, Charles Barkley couldn’t hide his frustrations on the speculations behind his firing in relation to the acquisitions of Durant and Irving. With the way Atkinson has been coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers, he would’ve probably climbed higher on this list.
5. Steve Nash
After Atkinson’s departure, the Nets hired former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash to man the sidelines. Despite the initial hype to have a decorated point guard as a coach, Nash could hardly translate his success as a player into a coach for the Nets. Under Nash, a star-studded Nets squad made the playoffs twice but could only go as far as the second round, getting eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 before suffering a sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics a year later.
6. Jacque Vaughn
After Nash’s dismissal that saw the Nets start the 2022-23 season with a 2-5 record, the Nets allowed Jacque Vaughn to serve as the interim head coach. It’s worth noting that Vaughn was no stranger to coaching the team, having temporarily filled in for Atkinson. Unfortunately, the partnership didn’t last long with the Nets trading Durant to the Phoenix Suns at the deadline.
7. Frank Vogel
Frank Vogel is no stranger to winning championships, having won one with the Los Angeles Lakers inside the bubble in 2020. The Suns eventually hired him to take over the void of Monty Williams. Unfortunately, Vogel only coached the Suns for a season, despite signing a five-year contract. Under Vogel’s watch, the Suns underperformed despite parading a big three of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. The Minnesota Timberwolves swept them in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
8. Mike Budenholzer
With Vogel’s departure, Phoenix found a replacement in Mike Budenholzer, who was also an NBA champion coach. Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more like the same story with a worse result. Currently, the Suns are only tied for the 10th seed in the West at 335-37, and they risk missing the Play-In Tournament altogether. It’s not exactly an ideal look for the team with the biggest payroll in the league. To make matters worse, a public spat between Durant and Budenholzer isn’t a good sign.
9. P.J. Carlesimo
PJ Carlesimo was KD’s coach from his rookie season all the way through the first part of his sophomore year. He was possibly the worst coach in Durant’s career, as they didn’t exactly win many games together. As the coach of the Seattle Supersonics and Thunder, he posted a measly 21-74 record across two seasons, which is all you need to know.
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