Mike Krzyzewski says he would’ve left for NBA in current college basketball era

The good, old days are gone, and college basketball coaches are following suit. During an appearance on “The Brotherhood Podcast,” former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski claimed life would look very different for him if he was still coaching.

“If I was younger, and we’d had the success we had, I would definitely consider going to the NBA,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s too much. You’re constantly recruiting your own players. The time for that. I wouldn’t want to do that.”

Krzyzewski saw no shortage of changes in his time as a head coach. After spending one season as an assistant coach under Bob Knight at Indiana, Krzyzewski took over at Army as a 28-year-old. In five seasons at the helm, Krzyzewski led the program to a 73–59 (.553) record.

In 1980, Krzyzewski found his footing, landing at Duke. He led the Blue Devils for 42 years. While in Durham, Krzyzewski collected five national titles, 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships and 13 ACC regular season titles. With 1,202 total wins, Krzyzewski is the most-winningest NCAA Division I Basketball head coach of all time.

Mike Krzyzewski escapes just in time

Despite Krzyzewski’s endless success at the collegiate level, he’s thankful to no longer be a part of the game.

“It’s a world that I didn’t live in,” Krzyzewski said. “It was just starting the last year [of my career]. Paolo [Banchero] probably benefited the most from it then, but it wasn’t through a collective or anything like that. And and you know what? I don’t want to be involved in it.”

Although Krzyzewski claims doesn’t have any experience as an NBA coach, he has plenty of experience with NBA players. Not only did the Hall of Fame member coach them at Duke, but he also mentored them in the Olympics.

Krzyzewski boosted the United States national teams to gold medals at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. Additionally, the 76-year-old former head coach led Team USA to first place finishes in the 2010 and the 2014 FIBA World Cups.

Krzyzewski never bit on any NBA offers, but he certainly received plenty of propositions. In 1990, The Boston Celtics offered a coaching position to Krzyzewski after he led Duke to its third-straight Final Four. Most recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves reach out to Krzyzewski in 2011, but, per usual, he declined.

Krzyzewski also reportedly turned down offers from the Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets. Obviously, Coach K loves college basketball. Nonetheless, he doesn’t love its current condition.