NBA: Ranking every active head coach by playing career

Every NBA head coach ranked by playing career: 18. Dwane Casey

Dwane Casey is the first person on this list who was considered a top recruit coming out of high school. He made the decision to stay close to home and go to one of the top programs in the country, the University of Kentucky.

Casey was a four-year player there, part of a National Championship-winning team in his junior year. Casey was named a team captain for his senior year and posted career totals of 125 points and 62 assists.

Casey had his first coaching job all the way back in middle school but moved into it as a full-time profession immediately after his playing career when he joined the coaching staff at Kentucky.

After one season there, he took over as the head coach at Western Kentucky University. He would return to Kentucky as an assistant and lead recruiter. This would ultimately end in scandal, though Casey was ultimately cleared.

Casey then went overseas to begin accruing some head coaching experience, spending time with the Sekisui Chemical and the Isuzu Motors Lynx. Doing well over there allowed him to come back stateside, this time in the NBA. He started as an assistant with the Seattle Supersonics before being named the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. That did not end the way he wanted, landing him back as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. Success there has led to his stints with the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.