Does the NBA have a bias against European coaches?
By Alan Mena
Ettore Messina
Another coach who never had a chance at becoming a head coach for an NBA team was Ettore Messina, who served an assistant coach of one of the most successful franchises in NBA history; the San Antonio Spurs.
In those five seasons as Gregg Popovich’s assistant coach, the Spurs subsequently made the playoffs each season while Messina was on the coaching staff.
Many would think after a successful tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, that Messina would get offered a head coaching job in the NBA. But, as history has shown, he simply did not get that opportunity he has coveted for years. Despite interviewing for several NBA teams, why didn’t the accomplished Italian coach get at least one chance to lead his own team sooner?
As of last summer, the sixty-year-old Italian native finally returned to Europe to become Olympia Milan’s head coach. As part of his new coaching gig, Messina was simultaneously given the title of president of basketball operations of Olympia Milan, becoming the first head coach to hold both positions of a team in EuroLeague history.
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Unlike many head coaches, Messina wanted to have more control over his team outside of just running the team on the floor.
Messina shared what he was exactly looking for in his next coaching job with Italy’s Ilsussidiario, stating “I would not have accepted if I had only had to coach. I am here because I will be able to do other things with the right to speak and veto solutions strategy of the team.”
Among his International milestones include being named EuroLeague’s top ten coaches of all-time in 2008, European Coach of the Year (1998), a two-time EuroLeague Coach of the Year (2006 and 2008), a five-time Italian Coach of the Year, and a four-time EuroLeague Champion (1998, 2001, 2006, 2008).
Lastly, It is worth mentioning that although he was not born in Europe, Gregg Popovich is of Serbian/Croatian descent. So, if Popovich was born in Serbia or Croatia, would he have had become one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time?
Most likely not.