Duke Icon Coach K Would Take Lakers HC Job if He Was Younger, Reflects on 2004 Offer
September 30, 2024
Legendary former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski once famously turned down the opportunity to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, but if he was younger and offered the job again, he said he would be walking the sidelines for the Purple & Gold today.
"I think if I was 57 now and it was offered, I would go," Krzyzewski, 77, told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I still love Duke. College basketball is terrific -- the product. All the stuff you have to do for it, it's not as gratifying as it was 20 years ago. At least for me."
Krzyzewski was 57 when he turned down the opportunity to replace Phil Jackson as Lakers head coach in 2004. Despite being offered a reported five-year, $40 million deal, he chose to hold onto what he had with the Blue Devils.
While Krzyzewski still told McMenamin "the idea of coaching Kobe was huge," his decision to remain at Duke paid off, as he won two more NCAA national championships and became the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history. He also coached the great Kobe Bryant on two Olympic gold-medal teams.
By staying at Duke, Krzyzewski coached the Lakers' newly hired head coach JJ Redick, who admitted that he wouldn't have joined the Blue Devils had Coach K. departed for Los Angeles.
"Coach was the primary reason that I went to Duke -- to play for him," Redick said. "So I definitely called some friends at different schools. I was like, 'Hey, uh, do you guys have a spot? I might be transferring.'"
When Krzyzewski heard the rumblings that Redick was interested in coach despite having no previous experience, he spoke to his mentee to find out how serious he was about his pursuits. Redick said he proved to his former coach that he was ready for this next step in his career.
"A lot of that initial phone call was just explaining to him what was on my heart and my mind and sort of what I wanted to do, which was coach. And I think that that got him more excited, to be honest with you. ...That was not a ploy for media attention, believe me," Redick said.
