Will the New York Knicks make NBA history this offseason by hiring one of the most beloved college coaches ever?
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, a WNBA Hall of Fame point guard in her playing days, has been linked as a contender for New York's head coaching vacancy of late — but not by ESPN's Shams Charania.
During a new conversation on the network's "The Pat McAfee Show," Charania reiterated that he had not heard about a Staley interview as of Monday.
“That is not something that has come across my desk”
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 30, 2025
— Shams on whether Dawn Staley is a Knicks coaching candidate pic.twitter.com/FsRhDD2QW0
"It's not something that has hit my desk as of yet," Charania said. "But, listen, the Knicks are going through their process. I'm sure they're talking to several candidates. James Borrego, Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown, Micah Nori — those are the known interviews, so far, that I have."
A six-time All-Star with the now-defunct Charlotte Sting, Staley's head coaching career kicked off in 2000-01 with the Temple University Owls. She posted a 172-80 overall record during her eight-year stint at Temple, making the NCAA Tournament six times.
Staley really burnished her legend, however, when she hopped over to South Carolina in 2008-09. Since then, she has become an NCAA institution. Staley has guided the Gamecocks to four NCAA title games and three championships since 2016-17. Her teams have made 11 Sweet Sixteens and six Final Fours.
All told, Staley's South Carolina squads have gone an excellent 475-110, including 214-56 in the SEC.
Were the Knicks to hire Staley, she would become the NBA's first-ever female head coach. The fact that this hasn't yet happened in the league's 79-year history (it was the BAA in 1946, and became the NBA in 1949, but it retroactively opted to count the BAA years as its first three seasons) is a bit stunning.
Last season under now-former head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks posted an impressive 51-31 record and earned the East's No. 3 seed, advancing to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. Still, after bungling a very winnable Game 1 and ultimately falling to the Indiana Pacers in six games, owner James Dolan about to move on from Thibodeau.