Dan Hurley Reveals What Type of NBA Team He'd Leave UConn to Coach

Dan Hurley is set to enter his eighth season as head coach of the UConn Huskies, where he has already built one of the premier programs in college basketball by winning two national championships in three title-game appearances.

Still, Hurley appears to have interest in eventually coaching at the NBA level. While he remains fully committed to UConn and the program in Storrs, his name has consistently surfaced in NBA rumors over the past several years.

Following UConn's national championship run in 2024, Hurley was reportedly offered a massive contract by the Los Angeles Lakers and gave serious consideration to the opportunity before ultimately deciding to return to the Huskies.

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Hurley's hard-nosed coaching style, which is heavily centered around accountability and intensity, would certainly be interesting to see transition to the NBA. However, it sounds like Hurley already has a clear idea of the type of roster he would be willing to coach at the professional level.

Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Hurley explained that for him to leave college basketball, it would likely need to be for a younger NBA team filled with players willing to be coached hard and pushed consistently.

"Maybe down the line if I burn off a little bit more intensity, maybe slightly calmer," Hurley said. "For a coach like me, you'd have to go into the NBA with a young roster - like I'd imagine some draft picks coming up where you're bringing in some young players, or you have some players that are willing to be pushed.

"I probably wouldn't be the right person to go into a veteran team like that, but I say that, and I feel like my superpower is probably coaching 18-to-22-year-olds."

If Hurley ever decides to make the jump to the NBA, he would likely command a massive contract given the success he has built at UConn. At 53 years old, though, that move still does not appear imminent.

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 3:47 PM.