Former Bulls Coach Billy Donovan Accepts Assistant Job with Spurs

It was reported on Thursday that former Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has agreed to become the lead assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. 

The 61-year old Donovan will be working under 39-year old Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.

Donovan is joining the Spurs as an experienced voice to help guide Johnson as they gear up for another deep postseason run. Johnson--objectively speaking--struggled in his first NBA Finals experience, with a favored Spurs squad falling 4-1 to the New York Knicks. 

San Antonio went 62-20 last season, good for the No. 2 seed in a competitive Western Conference. Per Basketball-Reference, they had the 3rd-best Defensive Rating in the league (111.3 allowed per 100 possessions). 

Donovan's last role, of course, was head coach of the Bulls.  He held the Bulls head coaching job from 2021 until 2026, with one playoff appearance over that stretch.

The Bulls lone postseason appearance during Donovan's tenure came during the 2021-22 season. That year the Bulls went 46-36 (56.1% Win Percentage), finishing at the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. That same season saw the Bulls get as high as the top-seed in the conference before they settled into the 6th seed. For the 2021-22 season, the Bulls finished with the 22nd ranked defense and the 13th ranked offense (113.2 ORtg). 

Despite routinely fielding rosters in Chicago bereft of perimeter defenders, Donovan found a way to usually keep the Bulls close to average defensively with his bend-don't-break strategies on that side of the ball. 

On top of his defensive prowess, Donovan--a former NBA PG--has found great success over his career getting the most out of guard prospects. He oversaw the development of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu in Chicago, while playing a hand in the development of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during his tenure as Oklahoma City Thunder head coach. It is easy to see how San Antonio could envision Donovan helping Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle continue their ascent, while helping De'Aaron Fox regain his confidence. 

I would be remiss to not bring up Donovan's tenure as head coach in OKC one more time, as it likely played a major factor in his hiring in San Antonio. The Spurs knocked off the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals last season, winning a hard-fought Game 7 in what will surely be the first chapter of a long rivalry. Although things change quickly in the NBA, the fact that Donovan was the head coach in OKC from 2015 to 2020 means that he has insight into how the Thunder operate.

Donovan's familiarity with the Thunder organization, proficiency for developing for developing guards and defensive acumen make him an intriguing addition to the Spurs staff.