After being formally introduced as the Brooklyn Nets head coach, Jordi Fernandez has made the first major addition to his coaching staff, hiring Juwan Howard as an assistant coach (per ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski).
Jordi Fernandez Takes Big Swing With Juwan Howard Hire
The former NBA center has extensive coaching experience.
After his 19-year NBA career, he spent six seasons as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra. Following his tenure with the Heat, he spent five seasons as the head coach of Michigan’s men’s basketball team.
ESPN Sources: Juwan Howard has agreed to join the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach. Howard spent six NBA seasons as a Heat assistant before returning to Michigan for five years as head coach. Howard arrives as part of Jordi Fernandez’s first staff. pic.twitter.com/RMjNVgpiel
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 26, 2024
Between playing and coaching, Howard has essentially dedicated his life to learning and teaching basketball.
Juwan Howard the Player
Prior to being drafted, Howard played for Michigan’s men’s basketball team for four seasons.
One of the outstanding members of Michigan’s famed Fab 5, Howard spent three seasons with the Wolverines. In that time, Michigan made three deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, including two trips to the National Championship Game. In his final season with the Wolverines, Howard had the third-highest scoring average (20.8 points per game) and fifth-highest rebounding rate (8.9 rebounds per game) in the Big Ten.
Selected fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft, went on to win two NBA championships as a pro. Over the first 10 seasons of his career, he averaged 17.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. In his first season, Howard landed fifth in Rookie of the Year voting. The next season, Howard earned an All-Star and All-NBA selection.
Throughout his playing career, Howard played for eight different franchises. He played for 17 different head coaches in that time, including several Hall of Famers (Don Nelson, Larry Brown, and George Karl). Notably, he spent three seasons with the Houston Rockets, learning from a keen basketball mind in Jeff Van Gundy.
Before landing with the Heat, where won two championships playing beside LeBron James, Howard also played for former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan. McMillan is one of 19 head coaches to win at least 750 games in the NBA.
Juwan Howard the Coach
Spoelstra, McMillan, Van Gundy, Karl, Brown, and Nelson have all added to his basketball knowledge. With that said, Howard had plenty of experience at his disposal when he landed at Michigan as a head coach.
Early on, Howard put his basketball IQ to great use, leading the Wolverines to an Elite Eight and Sweet 16 appearance. He was named the AP Coach of the Year in just his second season. However, Howard was unable to build off of his initial success, failing to make the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. In 2023-24, Michigan finished below .500 for the first time. They parted ways with Howard in March.
Notably, the Wolverines played an up-tempo, free-flowing style with Howard as head coach. In his introductory press conference, Fernandez relayed that he wants the Nets to play fast. Between Howard’s basketball experience, ability to communicate the nuances of the game, belief in the importance of connectedness and his offensive philosophy, he’s a tremendous asset to Brooklyn.
