Dawn Staley Says She Would Have Taken Knicks Head-Coaching Job If Offered
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South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley revealed on the “Post Moves” podcast with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston on Wednesday that she went through a formal interview for the New York Knicks’ head-coaching vacancy earlier in the offseason.
“I interviewed for the Knicks,” Staley said, noting that her conversation followed the same process as every other candidate. “I thought I did pretty well. I was well prepared.”
The Knicks also met with former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, and Pelicans assistant James Borrego after the club was denied permission to speak with several sitting NBA head coaches. New York ultimately hired Mike Brown.
Staley told Parker and Boston she would have accepted the position if team executives had offered it. “If the Knicks would’ve offered me the job, I would’ve had to do it,” she said. “Not just for me—it’s for women. And it’s the New York Knicks.”
The Hall of Fame point guard added that she may have harmed her candidacy by pressing the club with pointed questions, including how hiring the NBA’s first female head coach might alter daily operations. “There’s going to be media, there’s going to be all this stuff that you didn’t have to deal with when you hire a male,” she explained, saying she sensed the interview’s energy shift after that exchange.
According to league sources cited by The Athletic, Staley impressed Knicks personnel but was not viewed as a finalist.
A six-time WNBA All-Star as a player, Staley coached Temple from 2000–08 and has led South Carolina since 2008, guiding the Gamecocks to three national championships. She has been named Naismith Coach of the Year four times in the five seasons spanning 2020–24.
Source: Hoops Rumors
