Former KU Jayhawks point guard Jacque Vaughn completes eventful season with NBA’s Nets

Former Kansas point guard Jacque Vaughn, who was promoted from Brooklyn Nets assistant to interim head coach on Nov. 1, 2022, after the firing of Steve Nash — and credited for keeping the NBA team afloat after February trades of All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — recently placed in a tie for seventh in Coach of the Year voting.

The 48-year-old Vaughn picked up three second-place votes and seven thirds, same as Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks. In all, 14 of the league’s 30 head coaches were mentioned.

Vaughn — he played at KU for Roy Williams for four years (1993-94 to 1996-97) — directed the Nets to a record of 43-32 and spot in the playoffs, where Brooklyn fell to Philadelphia four games to none in the first round.

“I look more toward what’s to come now,” Vaughn said Sunday in his “exit interview” with media members who report on the Nets. He initially was upgraded from interim to head coach on Nov. 9, then signed a head coaching contract extension in February that will keep him as Nets head coach through the 2026-27 season.

“I’m already transitioned that way, looking forward to training camp, looking forward to having connections over the summer with different individuals. I get a chance to really, authentically form some bonds over the course of the summer (that) I think will carry over into next year,” Vaughn continued.

“(My) self evaluation starts with me diagnosing different parts of the season: ‘What were some of the blind spots? What were some of the things missing?’ That’s going to be my push, my challenge to myself, to find some of the holes and plug them up in the offseason and be prepared to the best of our ability moving forward.”

Nets won 25 of 33 games after Vaughn took reins

The Nets, 2-5 at the time of Nash’s firing, went 25-8 immediately after Vaughn took over. The team emerged as a possible title contender (with a 27-13 record) in early January.

At one point the Nets won 14 of 16 games.

It’s a marathon season though, and the Brooklyn Nets at one point in March — well after the trades of Durant and Irving — lost six of seven. The team did finish the regular season with five wins in seven contests.

“This (Sunday meetings with players and staff) gave me a last chance to say thank you to the group, not only to the players but everyone who supports us through the course of the year,” Vaughn said. “To challenge the group also, getting a chance to define our culture, having a clarity of our culture going forward and to challenge themselves to make themselves better when they come back.”

Of the future, he said: “I just felt like this is a part of our journey, our journey as a franchise. I think we reached some of the bases: first, second, third base. We’re not home yet. This for me is all part of our process, our growth. This is us moving forward. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

Vaughn — he played 12 seasons in the NBA after being named 1996 Big Eight Player of the Year and 1997 second-team All-American — has been with the Nets organization for seven seasons.

He’s been a loyal employee of Brooklyn Nets

Vaughn remained on the coaching staff when Tony Brown was fired in April of 2016. He served as the Nets’ interim head coach after Kenny Atkinson was fired late in the 2019-20 season. Nash was hired and lasted for the 2021-22 campaign and seven games in 22-23.

Vaughn also was head coach of the Orlando Magic for three seasons (2013-15) and an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs.

“I just kept doing my job,” Vaughn told SI.com, referring to coaching as a Nets assistant, then an interim, then back as an assistant, an interim and finally head coach. “It’s a great lesson for my kids.”

He and wife Laura have two teenage sons, Jalen and Jeremiah.

“I think at the end of the day when I talk to them about things it’s like, good news, bad news, who knows. That old fable,” Vaughn said. “You just continue to do your job and you persevere and you love to grind and they know that’s a part of me.

“I’ve seen it all here, whether it’s multiple coaches, whether it’s the (COVID-19) bubble, whether it’s trade requests, whether it’s all of the above. And so to still be a part of this organization means a lot to me. ... That means the way I carry myself on a daily basis, people appreciate it. So there’s something to that, but at the end of the day I just kept doing my job and showing up every single day and ready to rumble every single day.”

He regularly refers to reporters by name at news conferences and usually leaves such conferences with a smile on his face after dealings with media.

Coach has sense of humor

Asked about the Nets first negotiating with Ime Udoka prior to hiring Vaughn as head coach, Vaughn cracked at his introductory news conference: “I said to my wife I might not have been her first choice but we’ve been together 20 years, so, you know, it could all work out.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks, who was a teammate of Vaughn with the San Antonio Spurs when the Spurs won an NBA title in 2007, said of Vaughn on the day he was went from interim to head coach: “Jacque’s basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward. He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball.”

He continued.

“There’s a number of factors why JV was the right choice. Obviously, I’ve known JV for a long time, and all of us have,” Marks added. “He’s been a part of this culture. He’s been a part of what we’ve been building here over the years. When we look at the person he is, we look at his connection with players. We’re looking at the big picture and having a relationship with him for seven years and his connection to players. His competitive spirit, a lot of that goes a long way and we’ve seen how this team, to be quite frank, has responded to him.”

Vaughn, who emerged as a McDonald’s All-American for Muir High School in Pasadena, California, had his jersey hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters in 2002.

The Utah Jazz selected Vaughn as the 27th overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. In his NBA career, Vaughn also played with the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, New Jersey Nets and San Antonio Spurs before retiring following the 2008-09 NBA season.

Now he’s an established head coach.

Praise for Jacque Vaughn

“I think he’s done great. He’s had to take over that situation and lose the best player in the league or one of the best players in the league (Durant),” said Philadelphia 76ers forward P.J. Tucker. “I think it’s pretty amazing they’re still a really, really solid team. They still won a lot of games. Even after the trade, all those guys stepped up and play well together. It’s hard to say they’re better, but as a team, everybody’s been involved, everybody’s playing and being successful. I think they did a really good job.”

Noted former Nets forward Durant: “I think he was due for an opportunity. I felt like he was the guy (to coach the Nets) because he paid his dues, knows the players, has seen the guys come in and out, has a tight relationship with the front office. I think he can connect with the players a little easier because it’s hard to transition a new guy midway through the season, early in the season like this, so I felt like just for the continuity purposes it was good for us to stick with Jacque. And I’m happy for him, he deserves this opportunity. Great basketball mind, great team builder, great leader of men.”