NBA needs more black coaches.
Why though? If anything, the NBA needs to start considering women for more head coach and assistant coach roles given there hasn't been a single female Head Coach in the entire history of the NBA. The same goes for football by the way, I appreciate it took some time for the women's game to catch up but listening to coaches like Emma Hayes on ITV during the Euros, there's absolutely no reason why she wouldn't be able to coach a professional men's side.
The NBA previously had eight Black head coaches at the beginning of the 2018-19 season and 14 during the 2012-13 season. That hardly matches the Black representation elsewhere. Out of the league's 185 assistant-coaching positions, 85 of the coaches are people of color. Meanwhile, 74.2% of the NBA players are Black.
I think it's just lazy to suggest that the reduction in black head coaches is racially motivated since 2012/13. There are often cycles in sports, and the funny thing is in 3/4 years time I bet we'll be looking at an NBA where the majority of coaches are black. And I find it difficult to believe that certain coaches are preferred due to the colour of their skin, in a sport where 75% of the players are black. If that were the case, surely that same view would translate into having more white players in the league? There are enough examples of racism in the World, it's frustrating when ordinary decisions are somehow made out to be racially motivated.
Gersson Rosas appointed Chris Finch as Head Coach of the Timberwolves earlier in the year over David Vanterpool, and was immediately accused of underhand racism which was just nonsense. He'd worked with Chris Finch at the Rockets for years, and to be fair Finch edged it when it came to Head Coach experience due to his previous roles at Denver and New Orleans. That's not to say David Vanterpool wasn't ready for the role because he absolutely is ready for a head coaching role, but it's frustrating when active superstars within the NBA (Dame Lillard) come out and start throwing the racism card when there's clearly no justification for it. Business often comes down to who you know, and not what you know.
Now saying that, yes I agree people have to start somewhere and why not appoint someone even if some of the other candidates have more experience on paper. That's the argument that should be made for some of the candidates for these roles who don't necessarily have head coach experience within the NBA. But I struggle to believe the majority of the Head Coach appointments are racially motivated. Brad Stevens is said to be keen to have a more diverse front office at the Celtics, and the Celtics are reportedly keen to appointment 'a person of colour' in the vacant Head Coach role, don't think anyone can disagree with that approach. But shoehorning in a candidate to a vacancy because of their ethnicity is wrong regardless of how you view it, and hopefully with a more measured approach both the Celtics and the NBA as a whole will continue to grow with more and more candidates from all backgrounds gaining access to both coaching and front office roles.
