Draff Young
Kansas City–Omaha Kings Interim Head Coach | NBA Assistant
Deacon Draff Young was born April 9, 1942, in Florence County, South Carolina, and developed his basketball career through playing, instruction and professional-team staff work. After attending Johnson C. Smith University, he worked with exhibition and community basketball programs before joining the NBA coaching ranks. The Cincinnati Royals employed Young as an assistant, and he continued with the franchise after its relocation and rebranding as the Kansas City–Omaha Kings. His route differed from that of the better-known former NBA stars who commonly obtained head-coaching jobs.
Young’s defining NBA assignment lasted only four games. In November 1973, after the Kings dismissed Bob Cousy, Young served as interim head coach while the club looked for a permanent replacement. Kansas City–Omaha lost all four contests, giving him a career NBA head-coaching record of 0–4. Phil Johnson was subsequently hired and eventually received the 1975 Coach of the Year award. Young’s brief leadership stint nevertheless forms a distinct part of NBA coaching history, particularly because of the limited opportunities available to Black coaches without NBA playing résumés at the time.
After his NBA work, Young continued in coaching and basketball development, including college assistant positions at Oral Roberts and Southern California and later international work. His professional influence therefore cannot be measured through four games alone. He died March 24, 2012. A complete account of Young should distinguish the documented Royals/Kings assistant years, the November 1973 interim appointment, and his later educational and international coaching work without inventing results for roles where game-by-game records are not available.
Overall NBA regular-season head-coaching record: 0–4. Assistant-coaching service is documented separately and is not assigned a personal win–loss record.
Coaching Career
Young joined the Royals’ NBA staff in Cincinnati and stayed when the team moved to the Kansas City–Omaha market in 1972. His responsibilities were those of an assistant coach, supporting the head coach’s preparation and work with a roster built around Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald and Sam Lacey. The franchise was changing cities and trying to establish a foothold in two new home markets. This role deserves separate treatment because the NBA standings do not assign a personal win–loss record to an assistant, even when that assistant later receives a temporary promotion.
Notable Players Coached
Kansas City–Omaha appointed Young interim head coach on November 22, 1973, after parting ways with Bob Cousy. He directed four games and the Kings lost all four, a 0–4 record that constitutes his complete NBA head-coaching total. Phil Johnson was then hired as the permanent coach and eventually guided the Kings to the 1975 playoffs. The transition was brief but historically notable: Young was among the small number of Black coaches entrusted with leading an NBA team in the early 1970s, and unlike several predecessors he had not first played in the NBA.