Jamal Crawford, the most senior veteran player on the Phoenix Suns roster recently had very high praise for his current head coach.
Not too long ago, the head coach of the Phoenix Suns was sitting on a very hot seat. There were rumors that he may be fired but then the team won 5 of their next 7 games and Igor Kokoskov has shown he is capable of being a good head coach in this league. Jamal Crawford thinks highly of him.
Recently, per an article by Duane Rankin on AZ Central, the most senior veteran player on the roster had very high praise for his head coach.
"“He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around,” Suns veteran guard Jamal Crawford said. “When it comes to play calling and things of that nature.”"
For a veteran on Crawford’s level, with as many NBA head coaches, as he’s had, that is a very surprising statement and shows a lot of respect for Kokoskov.
This is the 8th team that Jamal has been on in the NBA and Igor is his 18th head coach in the league. Eighteenth. That’s a story of it’s own. If you want to see something impressive, he can name all of them right off the top of his head.
Say what you will about Mike Woodson but he led the Hawks to the playoffs for the first time in eight years and to three consecutive playoff appearances, taking them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his last two seasons. Atlanta increased their win total in each of Woodson’s six seasons.
Vinny Del Negro was Crawford’s head coach on the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2012-13 season. That year, Del Negro led the Clippers to the best season in the franchise’s 43-year history, including a franchise-record 17-game winning streak. The team won a franchise-record 56 games, had their first ever 50-win season and their first Pacific Division title.
Scott Skiles was his head coach on the Chicago Bulls in 2003-04. In his first full year on the sidelines, Chicago limited it’s opposition to an NBA-best .422 field goal percentage and held their opponents to a franchise record and league high 26 straight games below 100 points.
Larry Brown coached 2,002 games in the NBA and has 1,098 wins on his resume. In 2005-06, on the New York Knicks with Crawford, he won his 1,000th game, becoming only the 4th head coach in NBA history to do so. Don Nelson is one of those four as he has 1,335 wins on his resume. He coached Crawford on the 2008-09 Golden State Warriors.
Nate McMillan was his head coach in 2011-12 on the Portland Trail Blazers. When he stepped in, he took over a team that had a lot of off-the-court drama and was able to settle it all down with his hard-nosed coaching style. He’s currently the head coach of the Indiana Pacers and doing very well there.
From 2013 to 2017, Doc Rivers was Crawford’s coach on the Clippers. In his first season as their head coach, he led the Clippers to a franchise-record 57 wins and the 3rd seed in the West. He’s currently in the running for Coach of the Year for what he’s doing with the Clippers this season.
Jamal only played 11 games under Mike D’Antoni on the New York Knicks. We know so much about the former Phoenix Suns head coach and his wide open floor, run and gun mentality. He’s currently a Coach of the Year candidate with the Houston Rockets.
Crawford has had some well distinguished head coaches as a player in the NBA and to say what he did about Kokoskov speaks on so many levels. That was quite the praise for his current head coach.
"“I think he’s done a good job considering. It’s tough for a first-year player. It’s tough for a first-year coach. It’s a tough situation. Obviously, the results haven’t been there. … You have to give him more time to judge what he’s done because one year, that’s tough with a young team.”"