Thunder Hires Billy Donovan as New Head Coach
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Mitchell Layton/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) — The Oklahoma City Thunder has hired Billy Donovan as their new head coach, the team announced on Thursday.
Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Andy Katz that Donovan has agreed to a multiyear deal to replace Scott Brooks, who was fired as coach of the Thunder after seven seasons.
Donovan spent the past 19 years coaching the Florida Gators, with whom he won two national championships and appeared in four Final Fours.
“I am honored and humbled to be named the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. I knew that it would take a unique opportunity to leave the University of Florida and that is clearly how I look at this situation,” Donovan said. “The Thunder represents so many of the values that I embrace as a head coach; the commitment to the team above oneself, the dedicated pursuit of excellence, the commitment to organizational culture, the identity they have established and the fact that the Thunder and the community are so intricately woven into the fabric of one another.”
Donovan was interested in making the transition to the NBA for a while, and he was pursued last offseason by both the Timberwolves and Cavaliers for their then-vacant positions.
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