After working with four NBA franchises as an assistant coach, Royal Ivey of the Houston Rockets may be nearing his first head coaching job.
Following the departure of former head coach Jason Kidd, the Dallas Mavericks and new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri have been in search of a new coach. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, that search includes current Houston Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey. Although Ivey has never worked as an NBA head coach, he’s worked as an assistant with four different franchises, including the Thunder, Nets, Knicks and Rockets.
Additionally, Ivey has worked as the head coach of the South Sudan National Team since 2021, leading them to the 2024 Olympics. Ivey joined the Houston bench in 2023 and has remained since then, despite a head coaching change from Stephen Silas to Ime Udoka. Other candidates around the league for the Mavericks vacancy are said to be Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and recent Warriors assistant Terry Stotts.
