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Oklahoma City Thunder Officially Hire Billy Donovan

By Maxwell Ogden

Feb 28, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan looks on and points against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Stephen C. O
Feb 28, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan looks on and points against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Stephen C. O /
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After seven seasons, an NBA Finals appearance and three trips to the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder fired head coach Scott Brooks. This comes on the heels of the Thunder missing the playoffs with a record of 45-37 in 2014-15.

According to an e-mail press release via the organization, Oklahoma City has officially hired Billy Donovan to be its new head coach.

"“We are thrilled to welcome Billy and his family to the Oklahoma City Thunder organization. When we began the process of identifying the next head coach of the Thunder, we started with a vision and the identifiable qualities that we felt were necessary for our organization as well as the ever evolving role of the head coach in today’s NBA. We wanted to identify a person with the traits associated with high achieving leaders in their respective fields; a continuous learning mentality, the ability to adapt, evolve and innovate, intrinsically motivated, humility, and great tactical competence,” [Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam] Presti said. “While we created a comprehensive analysis regarding the qualities we were looking for, it became quite evident that Billy was the ideal fit for the Thunder as we look to transition our team into the future. Billy has achieved an incredible level of success and experience within his 21 years as a head coach and has shown the unique ability to not only create but sustain an elite program. His emotional intelligence, commitment to the concept of team, and relentless approach to incremental improvement have allowed him to bring his players together and establish lasting relationships through competitive success. Billy’s core values and alignment with our culture and community, as well as his proven tactical abilities, make him an ideal addition to the Thunder organization.” ‎"

OKC confirmed the news via Twitter:

This is Donovan’s first career NBA head coaching job.

Prior to the hiring, Donovan had been the head coach of the Florida Gators since 1996. He won two National Championships, made four Final Four appearances and was a three-time SEC Coach of the Year.

During his time at Florida, Donovan produced a number of NBA players, including Bradley Beal, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, David Lee, Mike Miller, Joakim Noah, Chandler Parsons, Marreese Speights and Jason Williams.

At the collegiate level, Donovan, 49, is coming off of his first losing season as a head coach since 1997-98. That comes one season removed from his leading Florida to a 36-3 record and a Final Four berth.

The hope in Oklahoma City is that he can get Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder over the hump and into the record books as NBA champions.

Donovan’s hiring comes on the heels of Brad Stevens, a former star college head coach, leading the Boston Celtics to an improbable postseason appearance in 2014-15. Stevens’ success has helped to shake the stigma of coaches who look to make the jump from one level to the next.

Donovan’s expectations will be set even higher.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Thunder general manager Sam Presti did not consult Durant and Westbrook when initiating the hiring process.

Next: How will Billy Donovan fare in Oklahoma City?

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