Legendary Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo Nearly Took NBA Job Last Year
If you were to draw up the Mount Rushmore of modern college basketball coaches, Tom Izzo is permanently etched into that granite. For three decades, he has been the gritty, screaming, deeply passionate heartbeat of the Michigan State Spartans. We’ve watched him pace the sidelines of the Breslin Center for so long that the idea of him wearing anything other than Spartan green feels like a glitch in the matrix.
But as it turns out, that glitch almost became our reality. In a revelation that casually dropped on a random Wednesday, Izzo admitted he was incredibly close to packing his bags, leaving East Lansing behind, and making the jump to the NBA to coach the Phoenix Suns. This wasn’t just a passing rumor whispered in the dark corners of the coaching carousel. This was a legitimate, pen-hovering-over-paper scenario that would have sent shockwaves through the entire sports world.
A Shocking Confession on the Dan Patrick Show
The bombshell dropped during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” You know how these interviews usually go—coach speak, a few laughs, some mild reflections on the season. But when the topic of the NBA came up, Izzo didn’t just offer a standard deflection.
Instead, Izzo pulled back the curtain. He revealed that he had “talked seriously” about taking the vacant head coaching job with the Phoenix Suns last offseason.
“I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, and looked at one last year with Phoenix,” Izzo confessed. “That was a hard thing to turn down because number one, I kind of wanted to go with him.” The “him” in question? That’s where this story shifts from a standard coaching rumor to a fascinating human drama.
The Mat Ishbia Connection: Why This NBA Offer Was Different
Izzo has flirted with the professional ranks before. We all remember the summer of 2010 when Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert (another Michigan State alum) rolled out the red carpet. Izzo ultimately passed, narrowly avoiding the heartbreak of LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach a few weeks later.
But the Phoenix offer hit closer to home. The Suns are now owned by Mat Ishbia. If that name rings a bell, it’s because Ishbia wasn’t just a student at Michigan State; he was a walk-on guard for the Spartans. He quite literally won a national championship playing under Izzo in the year 2000.
This wasn’t a sterile corporate negotiation between a billionaire owner and a high-profile coach. This was family. It was a former player calling up his mentor and asking him to run the show at the highest level of the sport. Turning down millions of dollars is one thing. Turning down a guy who used to bleed for you on the practice floor? That carries some serious emotional weight.
The State Of College Athletics: Why Leaving Made Sense
So, why was Izzo actually tempted to walk away from his college kingdom? If you’ve been paying attention to the landscape of the NCAA lately, the answer is painfully obvious.
College basketball is currently operating like the Wild West. Between the chaotic revolving door of the transfer portal and the unregulated gold rush of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, the sport has fundamentally changed. The purity of building a program over four years is practically dead.
Izzo didn’t hold back his feelings on the matter, noting his deep frustration with the current system. “I don’t like what’s going on in college athletics,” Izzo said. “By the way, neither do 99.8% of the football and basketball coaches in America. And I think the kids are going to still find out before it’s done, it’s not best for them either.”
You can feel the exhaustion in that quote. We’ve already seen legends like Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jay Wright, and Tony Bennett walk away, largely because the job they fell in love with simply doesn’t exist anymore. Coaching college hoops is now a relentless exercise in roster retention and fundraising.
The Phoenix Aftermath and the Spartan Future
Ultimately, the pull of East Lansing was just a bit too strong. Izzo stayed put, continuing his legendary streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The Suns pivoted and hired Jordan Ott—who, ironically enough, also has deep ties to Michigan State as a former graduate assistant. Ott has done a phenomenal job turning the culture around in Phoenix, proving that Ishbia’s Spartan-heavy strategy has some serious merit.
But for college hoops fans, we should probably take a moment to appreciate what we still have. Izzo turning down the NBA means we still get the fiery timeouts, the intense March matchups, and the unbreakable bond between a coach and his community.
At 71 years old, Izzo is still chasing that elusive second national championship. He could have taken the easy out, grabbed the NBA bag, and ridden off into the Arizona sunset with his former player. Instead, he chose the grind. He chose the madness. And honestly? We are all incredibly lucky he did.
