New Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has been in this position before — and he crushed it. We’re not talking about this year, where following the ignominious exit of coach Steve Nash, Vaughn guided the Nets to a 2-2 mark as the “interim head coach.” No, long before that.
Back in 2019-20 when the Nets went a desultory 35-37 under then head coach Kenny Atkinson, Vaughn stepped in as the top man and claimed seven of those 35 victories — against just three losses. Yup, last time Vaughn coached the Nets he had .700 winning percentage, going 7-3 with an otherwise mediocre squad.
Brooklyn GM Sean Marks remembers. In hiring Vaughn full time, Marks issued a statement lauding the new head coach for not just his “basketball acumen” but also his “intimate knowledge of our team.”
Marks wrote: “Jacque’s basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward. He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball.”
Vaughn has been with Brooklyn since the 2016-17 season. He is a product of the broad coaching tree of San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, for whom Vaugh worked as an assistant coach from 2010-12 after playing for the Spurs.
Vaughn will lead these guys. And # 11, too, when Kyrie Irving returns from his suspension.
