Rumors back in June linked South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley to the New York Knicks’ vacant head coaching job. At first, it was just speculation. But those whispers were later confirmed by multiple reports — and even South Carolina Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati.
Now, Staley herself has confirmed it. On a new episode of Post Moves, the podcast hosted by former Gamecock Aliyah Boston and WNBA legend Candace Parker, the three-time national champion coach admitted she interviewed for the Knicks’ job — and revealed she would have accepted it if offered.
“I interviewed for the Knicks,” Staley said on the episode released Wednesday. “… I thought I did pretty well. I was well-prepared for the interview. If the Knicks would have offered me the job, I would have had to do it. Not just for me, it’s for women, just to break open that.”
This wasn’t Staley’s first brush with the NBA. Back in 2021, the Portland Trail Blazers also interviewed her for their opening. While she’s not looking to jump at just any opportunity, she made it clear that the Knicks are one of the rare franchises she’d consider leading — even if they’re rivals to her hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I’m from Philly, but it’s the freaking New York Knicks,” Staley said. “And I did say that in the interview … I did. I was like, ‘It’s the freaking New York Knicks.’ Would I take any NBA job? No.”
Still, Staley admitted she may have “shot myself in the foot” during the process. She revealed that she asked a series of hard questions about how the organization would handle hiring the first female head coach in NBA history.
“My other question was, ‘How, if you hired me as the first female coach in the (NBA), how would it impact your daily job?’” Staley recalled. “Because it would. It would. Because you’re going to be asked questions that you don’t have to be asked if you hire a male coach. There’s going to be the media, there’s going to be all this stuff that you’re going to have to deal with that you didn’t have to deal with or you don’t have to deal with when you hire a male.”
As for coaching in the WNBA? Staley has long been clear on that front, and her answer on the podcast was blunt: “No.”
“I don’t want to coach in the WNBA,” she added. “I could have coached in the WNBA a long time ago. That really isn’t my passion. My true passion is young people, preparing young people for the WNBA. Because I want the WNBA to be around for a long time. So if we could keep feeding the WNBA Aliyah Bostons, we’re going to be in a great place. We’re going to be in a great, great place.”
Instead of coaching in the pros, Staley said her real dream is ownership. She’s already dipped into that world by investing in Unrivaled, a new women’s 3-on-3 pro league that plays during the WNBA offseason.
“I want ownership,” Staley said. “I want to own, I don’t want to coach. … I want to be in the room helping to make decisions on how you put a product on the floor, how you get into the community, how you get people in the stands. That’s the sweat equity that I want, but I want that as an owner.”
For now, though, Staley remains firmly entrenched at South Carolina. Since arriving in Columbia, she’s won 475 games, nine SEC tournament championships, and three national titles while transforming the Gamecocks into a powerhouse.
In January, she signed a historic $25.5 million extension that made her the highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the country. That contract runs through 2030 — but with an important caveat. If Staley ever left for an NBA or WNBA head coaching job before April 15, 2030, she wouldn’t owe South Carolina a dime thanks to a buyout clause. If she left for another college job, however, she would owe the school 100% of her remaining salary.
That distinction makes one thing clear: Staley isn’t walking away from South Carolina for another college gig.
“I would never leave here to go take another college job,” she said in January. “It’s nothing– like I have the best of the best here. I don’t have a passion for the next level. I don’t. I would have been gone. Like, seriously.”
So, while the Knicks’ call put her name in the NBA spotlight once again, Staley seems more committed than ever to her role at South Carolina — unless the “freaking New York Knicks” or another NBA franchise come knocking.
