Learn more about current Phoenix Suns assistant and 2x NBA champion David Fizdale’s coaching career, philsophy, and the challenges he’s overcame in the NBA.
David Fizdale is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns under Mike Budenholzer. Coach Fizdale has made several stops in the NBA notably the Miami Heat as an assistant coach where he won 2 championships and later becoming the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks.
When you hear his name, Fizdale receives criticism for his head coaching stints, just like every other coach and their methods, however coaches learn and rebound off their mistakes just like players and everyone else.
In this article, you‘ll learn about David Fizdale’s coaching tenure, his coaching philosophy, and how his head coaching stints helped him into a becoming a better coach and leader.
For more weekly content such as this, make sure to subscribe to “Behind the Coaching” for free and receive all the informative content about basketball coaches today.
San Diego State (1998-2002)
Fizdale’s first coaching job was at his Alma matter where he played basketball, the San Diego Toreros men’s basketball team as an assistant coach under head coach Brad Holland.
Fresno State (2002-2004)
Fizdale spent 2 seasons as an assistant coach on the Fresno State’s basketball, the Bulldogs under head coach Ray Lopes.
Golden State Warriors (2003-2004)
Fizdale’s first NBA coaching job was with the Golden State Warriors under head coach Eric Musselman. This would also be the first time he’d coach alongside Keith Smart.
Despite spending only one year with the Warriors, Boylen had the opportunity to coach Jason Richardson, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, Clifford Robinson, Calbert Cheaney, and Nick Van Exel.
Atlanta Hawks (2004-2008)
Fizdale was an assistant coach under Mike Woodson, the team only made the playoffs once under Coach Woodson, losing to the Celtics in 7 games in 2008, however the team did increase their wins per season.
2004-2005: 13-69
2005-2006: 26–56
2006-2007: 30–52
2007-2008: 37–45
He notably coached Al Harrington, Tyronn Lue, Royal Ivey, Kevin Willis, Tom Gugliotta, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Johnson, and Josh Smith.
Miami Heat (2008-2016)
Fizdale returned to the Miami Heat after working in their video department from 1997-1998. The Miami Heat would make the playoffs every year in Fizdale‘s tenure except the 2014-2015 season, due to LeBron James returning to the Cavaliers. The Heat made 4 straight finals appearances from 2011-2014, winning the championship 2 times in 2012 and 2013.
He served as the head coach of the Heat Summer League teams in 2010 and 2012. He was later promoted to associate head coach after assistant coach Ron Rothstein retired in 2014.
Fizdale notably coached LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, James Jones, Jermaine O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Chris Andersen, and Amar’e Stoudemire. He also learned from veteran coaches in Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and Ron Rothstein
Memphis Grizzlies (2016-2017)
Fizdale got his first head coaching job with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2016, who was a co-finalist with James Borrego, an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs at the time.
Coach Fizdale wanted system transition into a more fast paced one, also known as the “Pace & Space”, however with the roster construction, the system wasn’t fully capable of succeeding.
The Grizzlies made the playoffs and went against the San Antonio Spurs for the second year in a row, losing in 6 games, an improvement from a clean sweep from the previous season under David Joerger. Fizdale was also famously known for his “Take That for Data” postgame press conference after the loss in Game 2.
During Fizdale’s second year, on November 26, 2017, the Grizzlies were going against the Brooklyn Nets, Marc Gasol was subbed out in the 3rd quarter against the Brooklyn Nets and was never subbed back in, the Grizzlies lost 98-88. The following day, he was fired.
Fizdale notably coached Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Vince Carter, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, James Ennis, Dillion Brooks, and Tyreke Evans.
Marc Gasol and David Fizdale later squashed the beef between them in 2018.
New York Knicks (2018-2019)
Fizdale became the 4th head coach in 5 years for the New York Knicks, desperate to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, Fizdale finished his first season with a record of 17–65.
Fizdale was fired December 6, 2019 after the Knicks started with a record of 4-18. Assistant coach Keith Smart was also fired on the same day. The Knicks shortly after fired their General Manager Steve Mills who had been with the team since the 2013-2014 season, the first year of their playoff drought. Assistant Mike Miller became the interim for the remainder of the season.
Fizdale notably coached Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Elfrid Payton, Bobby Portis Jr, Frank Ntilikina, and DeAndre Jordan .
After being fired, Fizdale sat down with the New York Post, saying he felt like a “fraud” and reflected on his coaching stints with New York and Memphis. Some of the most notable quotes he provided were:
“I probably needed to crack the whip a little more and be more demanding of the young guys to do more winning things”
I tried to coach Marc Gasol like I coached kids from the ‘hood, but I hadn’t gained enough trust from him. I coached him how my high school coach would have coached me, where I tried to tear his ego down to the barest bones in front of the group,”
“I got caught up in my own ego and my emotions, because I was so frustrated with the losing.”
“What [Memphis] taught me is I can still coach guys hard, but I have to know the level I can go to. I have to coach them with the idea that it’s bigger than basketball.”
Timeout from Coaching (2019-2021)
Fizdale temporarily stepped away from coaching after being fired from the Knicks, he became an analyst on ESPN and was featured on several podcasts such as All the Smoke and The Basketball Podcast.
Los Angeles Lakers (2021-2022)
With the departure of lead assistant coach Jason Kidd, who left to become the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, The Lakers hired Fizdale to fill his role on the bench. Fizdale would reunite with LeBron James who he coached in Miami.
The Lakers had acquired Russell Westbrook that summer via trade with the Washington Wizards, which resulted in the Lakers signing veterans in Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, DeAndre Jordan, Wayne Ellington, and Kent Bazemore due to the financial restrictions of his contract. The Lakers became one of the oldest rosters in the NBA with an average age of 33.
Fizdale took over as the head coach for 6 games, including Christmas Day in 2022 when Coach Vogel had to quarantine after contracting COVID. He finished 1-5 as the acting head coach.
The Lakers finished 33-49 and the 11th seed in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs. Frank Vogel was fired shortly after the season was over.
Utah Jazz (2022-2023)
Fizdale had went on a personal journey to find himself, after Darvin Ham was hired to replace Frank Vogel in Los Angeles, Fizdale was one of the assistant coaches who would not return to his new staff. He would receive an offer from Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillian to join his coaching staff, however Fizdale was eying another role in the NBA, the front office.
He talked to many of his mentors, friends, fellow coaches, and other members of front offices for advice, specifically NBA all star Dwyane Wade, who Fizdale coached in Miami and has been friends with since. Wade was surprised about Fizdale’s interest in anything else besides coaching.
He eventually talked with Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge who gave him an offer as the associate general manager under General Manager Justin Zanik, which Fizdale accepted.
The Utah Jazz made significant trades in the 2022-2023 season notably the Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland for Lauri Markkanen and the 3 team deal including the Jazz, Timberwolves, and Lakers.
Phoenix Suns (2023-2025)
The Phoenix Suns hired Frank Vogel and immediately assembled his staff, they made a “substantial” offer to Fizdale to lure him from the Jazz’s front office, reuniting with Frank Vogel was also another factor in Fizdale’s return to the sidelines as a coach. He would also reunite with Suns general manager James Jones, who he coached in Miami.
Fizdale would notably be seen talking to the players during timeouts and huddles, Bradley Beal praised his efforts in doing so after a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3, 2024. He would also work closely with Bol Bol during practices and coach him up.
After Vogel was fired, his entire assistant coaching staff would not be retained, Fizdale was offered a role in the Suns front office, however he was later retained and brought back for Mike Budenholzer’s staff.
Kevin Durant also called Fizdale his “personal coach” and is seen during pre-game workouts with Coach Fizdale getting some shots in.
Coaching Philosophy
Fizdale is more involved on the defensive side of the basketball, while being concentrated on relationship building as a players coach. Over his 27 year coaching career, Fizdale has connected with numerous coaches, players, front office and medical team members. He has also served in every role that a NBA coaching staff could need including video coordinator, player development, offensive and defensive coordinator, lead assistant, and head coach.
“You Can’t Rush the Culture” – David Fizdale
His Grizzlies offense system was based off the “Pace and Space” philosophy which consists of a faster pace game by spacing out the floor and creating shots. It was a challenging transition from Memphis’s “Grit & Grind” existing system which involved a majority of high post up work.
Fizdale’s Challenges
Fizdale revealed he wasn’t part of the “pool” during the Grizzlies head coaching search, resulting in him going to Pat Riley to put in a good word. Despite winning 2 titles with the Heat as a key assistant coach, Fizdale was never interviewed for any vacancies until 2 years after the 2013 championship.
He also mentioned that while attending J.B. Bickerstaff’s wedding, Mike Brown called him and gave Fizdale his perceptive on why he wasn’t being considered as a head coach candidate, he was considered “too close” with his players.
Thumbnail Credit: Thelongrain via Wikimedia Commons
Founder & Managing Editor of Behind the Coaching.