Despite taking two teams from the cellar to championship contention and currently in the midst of rebuilding a 19-win franchise in Cleveland, nine percent of NBA players surveyed by Sports Illustrated list Byron Scott as the coach they would least like to play for.
A survey answered by 134 current NBA players, Boston’s Doc Rivers received 22 percent of the vote for coach players would most like to play for while Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy brought up the tail with 22 percent voting him as the least enticing option. Milwaukee’s Scott Skiles (14 percent) split Van Gundy and Scott on the List of Least with former Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown receiving four percent of the vote — good enough for fifth.
Van Gundy, Skiles and Scott are three NBA coaches who are notoriously known for demanding a lot of of their players. Van Gundy is one of the league’s least laid back individuals, an intense worker who demands the same from his players. Skiles is known as one of the league’s biggest no-nonsense, in-your-face sideline chancellors in the game. Scott holds the dreaded “Camp Scott” during the preseason, frequently claiming the stomachs of countless out-of-shape players. Brown is most known for his willingness to forgo elevated point totals and pace for improved, stout defense.
Offering considerable insight as to who today’s ever-coddled NBA players prefer, the currently unemployed Mike D’Antoni — he of the Defense Optional style and one playoff appearance since 2008 – received 21 percent of the vote for coaches who they would most like to play for.
If it’s any consolation for Scott, it appears that the feelings are mutual.
[Related: When There’s a Wing, There’s a Way]
