Does the NBA have a bias against European coaches?

European players

There is one fact that is extremely clear; European players will always have more of an opportunity to excel in the NBA than European head coaches have had.

Since the origin of the NBA in 1946, European-born players have steadily left their imprint in the game of basketball, with the last twenty-years including the greatest European players of all-time. While this difference is expected (there will always be more players than coaches), having only one European coach in league history is unacceptable for a global sport.

This season,108 international players were on an NBA roster, mainly from Canada (16), Australia (nine), France (eight), Croatia (seven), and Serbia (six).

Aside from the current European players dominating the NBA, the two who are currently MVP candidates are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić.

Historically speaking, the most highly revered and skilled European-born NBA players are Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Vlade Divac, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Andrei Kirilenko, Toni Kukoč, Dražen Petrović, Arvydas Sabonis, Detlef Schrempf, Peja Stojaković, and Rik Smits.

All of these NBA greats mentioned have had a major influence on many current or recently retired players within the last twenty years or so.

Lasting impact

Throughout the course of NBA history, European players have been given the opportunity to succeed in the NBA, while European coaches have not had ample opportunities to showcase their potential and talent as a head coach of an NBA team.

While it is true that many European-born coaches have been targeted by NBA teams in the past, not many have had an actual chance at leading a team as Kokoškov had with the Phoenix Suns last season.

Even if certain coaches have a reputation overseas that is not expected to translate into success in the NBA, they should at least be given a shot at proving their doubters wrong.

Gregg Popovich, with all of his success in the NBA, has previously mentioned that he and Obradović have mutual respect and that he’s even taken some of his plays over the years. This is only one (of many) classic example of one NBA coach implementing the coaching style of a European coach.

Two other coaches that are worth mentioning are current Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Neven Spahija and retired Serbian head coach Dušan Ivković, who both have had great success overseas but never had an opportunity to coach an NBA team.

In all honesty, many of these coaches are overqualified for some head coaching gigs due to their success overseas, so they should definitely have had more opportunities to coach in the NBA.

So hopefully moving forward, there will be more opportunities for European coaches to be given a chance and be trusted to lead a franchise for more than a year.