When the biggest question about the Thunder’s new coach was tossed out at his introductory press conference, Billy Donovan delivered the perfect icebreaker in response to his lack of NBA coaching experience.
“I’ve been an NBA coach before,” Donovan retorted. “It was only for a day.”
Eight years later, Donovan finally can joke about getting cold feet and backing out of the Orlando Magic head coaching job.
Here in Oklahoma City, however, Donovan’s experience, or lack thereof in the NBA, remains the biggest red flag about him in the minds of many fans.
But on several occasions in his near 40-minute introduction to the local media Friday afternoon, Donovan tackled each and every question posed to him about the challenge he faces in jumping from college to the pros.