If one door closes, another opens. In Monty Williams’s case, on the other side awaits a staggering $78.6 million fortune.
Williams, who was terminated from his position as head coach for the NBA Phoenix Suns following their elimination by from the 2023 semifinals, recently inked a massive deal to the tune of nearly $79M with the Detroit Pistons to lead the team. It’s reportedly the largest NBA coaching deal in the organization’s history.
“At more than $13 million per year, Williams immediately becomes the highest paid coach in the NBA, and one of the highest paid coaches in American sports history,” writes SB Nation of the deal. “His annual salary easily eclipses Gregg Popovich’s $11.5 million deal for the NBA’s biggest coaching contract. Only a handful of NFL coaches can say they make a bigger yearly salary than Williams.”
Williams is joining an elite, high-pressure club of just a few other NBA coaches who were paid nearly or more than $8M/year, Nick Nurse in Toronto, Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee, Doc Rivers in Philadelphia, and Steve Nash in Brooklyn, the outlet points out.
Named coach of the year in 2022, Williams is a respected figure within the organization and is expected to live up to some high standards due to his winning track-record and can-do attitude.
“Everything you want is on the other side of hard,” he’s been quoted saying. “You’re not gonna find greatness on a beach,” Williams said. “You’re gonna find it in the struggle. For us to get to where we want to be, you have to deal with those kinds of games, those moments, the internal struggle of not knocking down shots that you’ve knocked down before and being able to bounce back.”
Looks like he took his own advice.