Dawn Staley Reflects on Knicks Interview Experience

Dawn Staley, a renowned coach for South Carolina’s women’s basketball team, recently shared her thoughts on her interview with the New York Knicks. She expressed that, in her view, the multitude of questions during the process may have negatively impacted the outcome.

At 55, Staley was among the candidates considered for the head coaching position, making her a notable figure as a potential first female coach in the NBA. During a recent podcast episode, she said, “I thought I did pretty well.” If an offer had been extended, she mentioned she would have accepted, praising the preparation for the interview. However, she reflected on how she might have inadvertently led the Knicks to view hiring a woman as a potential distraction.

“One of my questions was, ‘If you bring me on as the first female coach in the NBA, how might that impact your day-to-day operations?’ It definitely would,” Staley remarked, noting the additional discussions that arise compared to hiring a male counterpart. There are complexities that simply don’t come into play with a traditional hire.

She sensed a shift in the energy of the interview when she posed that question, implying it made the Knicks reconsider their stance. “It really made them think,” she noted. “Then I felt the energy had changed.”

The Knicks ultimately pursued several male candidates to replace Tom Thibodeau, ultimately hiring Mike Brown, who has nearly three decades of experience in the NBA. They faced resistance in interviewing other candidates as well, particularly regarding their top choice, Jason Kidd from the Mavericks.

Staley continued to detail how the Knicks were looking for chemistry between their coaches and staff, encouraging inquiry about historical success within their organization.

“They wanted a team. They wanted inclusiveness from the management and coach,” Staley said. “They wanted that feeling of being closely connected as a franchise. Their answer was really ‘no.’ But if you don’t hire someone else, how do you plan to achieve that?”

Staley also reflected on a previous interview with the Trail Blazers in 2021, a position that ended up going to Chauncey Billups. While it’s uncertain whether she received an offer from Portland, she remains a figure in the Knicks conversations.

“I interviewed for the Knicks. I did. Everyone else in the pool had the same experience. I believed I was prepared. If the Knicks offered me a job, I had to take it—not just for myself but for women, to break that barrier. It’s the Knicks, after all.”

In her view, this hesitation may stem from the narrative she introduced about the complexities of hiring women. “Would you like to work in the NBA? No,” she stated. “But I believe the NBA needs to be ready for women head coaches. It’s not enough to simply interview someone and then decide, ‘We’re going to hire her.’”