South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley recently spoke about what truly went down when she was approached by an NBA franchise earlier in the offseason. Earlier in the college basketball and NBA offseason this year, reports surfaced of the New York Knicks legitimately interviewing and scouting Staley as a possible new head coach after the team relieved former coach Tom Thibodeau of his duties earlier in 2025.
In a recent interview, then, in an ESPN broadcast, then shared by @espnw on Instagram, Staley was then asked about this matter and was even asked if she gives a lot of thought towards her potential of becoming the first ever woman head coach in the NBA. But for Staley, it seems as though her focus remains on her Gamecocks team as she would rather be in a consultant role for any woman seeking to break that barrier.
“How much do I have that in me? Not really a whole lot, but you know, I did the interview because I’ve known Leon Rose for 30 years and because of that, I’m a person that I need a connection to the people, right. So, I have a connection to him and World Wide Wes. So, I’ve known them all my life and it was a real interview. And I’d like to see what they’re talking about,” Staley shared.
“And if there’s somebody that is interested in knowing and interested in being the first female NBA coach or such, I got all the information. Come see me ’cause I’ll get you prepared for the interview. And if there are NBA franchises that are interested in hiring a female, I’m here too, because you got to be, you got to be ready to take on that and all the things that it comes with ’cause it’s not just hiring the first female coach,” she explained.
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Staley and her Gamecocks squad are heading into the upcoming 2025-26 collegiate hoops campaign looking to bring back the national title to their university. This is because South Carolina’s 2024 NCAA championship defense was spoiled by the UConn Huskies in this year’s national championship game by 23 points, 82-59. They finished the year with an overall record of 35-4 (15-1 SEC).
Dawn Staley Is Under Contract With The South Carolina Gamecocks Until 2030
Nevertheless, the past possibility of coaching the New York Knicks in the NBA, Dawn Staley is still under contract with the South Carolina Gamecocks until the 2029-30 season. This is because, as per the Gamecocks’ official website, the tenured tactician signed a contract extension in January of this year that will pay her $4 million yearly, with a $250,000 annual escalator, until the aforementioned campaign.
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