Category: NBA

As the NBA continues to pursue its expansion into Europe, the existing legacy league rejected a formal merger offer earlier this week.

Yet, that isn’t halting any plans for NBA Europe to forge ahead.

Membership groups from EuroLeague, which has been operating in the region since 1958, rejected a merger offer from the NBA that would have lumped operations under the proposed NBA Europe umbrella, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

Despite that, talks are expected to continue as the NBA works toward a collaborative approach with EuroLeague.

The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, which have not been made public.

Yet, despite the failed merger offer, the NBA will not pause its plan to create the new, 14-to-16-team NBA Europe league across a dozen cities in Europe, some of which do not have permanent EuroLeague teams in place.

NBA plans for Europe: League format

The NBA has maintained that its NBA Europe plan will be a European basketball franchise for European fans, and that its structure would align closely with existing European sports infrastructure.

Ten to 12 of the proposed teams would be permanent, with a merit-based pathway for teams in FIBA-affiliated domestic leagues to have the chance to qualify; the structure is similar to promotions in European soccer leagues, for example.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in September that the NBA would want to start operations for an inaugural season as soon as 2027-28.

NBA Europe hits various issues

The most pressing issue, therefore, now becomes a potential deadline by which the NBA would be forced to move on without EuroLeague.

Given that the NBA would ideally want to begin competition as soon as next year, it is not in the league’s best interest to wait for an agreement with EuroLeague, should merger talks fail to progress. That likely creates a potential hard out of merger talks within the next six months, should an agreement not materialize before then.

Reports out of Europe have been that there’s dissension among the EuroLeague membership groups, with some franchises in favor of the merger and others against. In any case, the measure was put to a vote that did not pass.

One interesting element in all of this is the relationship of EuroLeague Basketball CEO Jesús “Chus” Bueno with executives in the NBA league office; Bueno spent 12 seasons with the NBA as vice president of Europe, Africa and the Middle East and the director of NBA Spain.

Back in April, a person with knowledge of discussions told USA TODAY Sports that the NBA had fielded more than 120 bids from investment groups for non-binding consideration, with some bids surpassing $1 billion.

One issue EuroLeague has had to navigate is that some of its existing benchmark franchises have explored the notion of joining the new NBA Europe league. The rejection of the merger offer isn’t necessarily a surprise, as some EuroLeague membership groups have been at odds with the NBA and FIBA, the NBA’s partner, over the process in forming the new NBA Europe league.

For the benchmark franchises that are interested in joining NBA Europe, there are mechanisms in their membership charters that allow them to exit their contracts with buyout payments.

Front Office Sports was the first to report the news of the merger rejection.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Europe plans continue after EuroLeague rejects merger

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Roughly 24 hours before he and his Oregon men’s basketball players were set to speak at Big Ten media days in Rosemont, Illinois, Dana Altman decided that after nearly 40 years as a Division I head coach, it was time to call it a career.

The longtime Ducks coach retired effective immediately on Wednesday, Oct. 7, only 26 days before they tip off their 2026-27 season against Montana.

The fact that the news is only so stunning says quite a bit about where college basketball finds itself in 2026.

More: Oregon basketball coach Dana Altman retiring less than one month before season starts

The early fall surprise that’s long been a staple of American politics, with an unexpected piece of unsavory news about a candidate dropping in the final weeks before Election Day, has come to college basketball in a different color in recent years — namely, with prominent coaches abruptly hanging up their whistles right before a new season.

Two years ago, Tony Bennett shocked much of the sport by retiring from Virginia at just 55 years old, and doing so on Oct. 17, just 20 days before the Cavaliers’ season-opener. Last year, and fresh off his second Final Four appearance in seven seasons, Bruce Pearl stepped away at Auburn to take an ambassador role in the university’s athletic department shortly after preseason practices began in late September.

Now, after weeks and months of speculation over who might follow in their footsteps, we have our answer.

In a vacuum, Altman’s retirement is understandable. He’s 68 years old. He’s enjoyed a long, successful and lucrative career. His legacy at Oregon and in the broader college basketball world is intact as a brilliant tactical mind who was a reliable winner everywhere he coached, including at Oregon, which he led to four conference championships and the 2017 Final Four, the program’s first since 1939.

But for all of those achievements, things were beginning to trend in the wrong direction. Last season, the Ducks went 12-20, marking the first time they’d finished with a losing record or fewer than 20 wins under Altman. Despite some nice pickups like San Francisco transfer Tyrone Riley, this year’s team wasn’t expected to be significantly better, with many projections having it in the bottom third of the 18-team Big Ten.

But while the decision to retire is entirely rational for Altman, the timing does raise eyebrows.

In a release from the school announcing his retirement, Altman didn’t offer up a reason beyond noting it was one of the two most difficult decisions of his coaching career, alongside his choice to leave Creighton for Oregon back in 2010.

“I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful,” Altman said in a statement. “I love coaching, it's what I know best and what I've been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades. I'm going to miss my coaches, my players and our incredible fans more than I can express. But I know this is the right thing to do at this time.”

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Bennett wasn’t shy about why he stepped down at an age when he was just starting to receive AARP mailers, pointing to the effect NIL deals and the transfer portal had on the game and the way it operated. Pearl cited a promise he’d made to himself to step away when he could no longer give it his all and “be the relentless competitor you expected of me.”

There was some tactical maneuvering at play, too. In Bennett’s case, retiring so close to the start of the season gave Virginia no other choice but to elevate one of his longtime assistants, Ron Sanchez, to the interim role and give him a season to audition for the job. At Auburn, Pearl’s thinly qualified son, Steven, was not only promoted to the head job, but given a five-year contract.

That doesn’t appear to be the case at Oregon, where Tony Stubblefield — one of Altman’s longtime assistants —will serve as the interim head coach for the upcoming season. Even if the Ducks turn heads, finish in the top half of the Big Ten and crash the NCAA tournament, would a school with Oregon’s financial resources and aspirations feel comfortable turning the program over to a 56-year-old who went 9-38 in conference play in three seasons at DePaul?

When discussing his retirement with reporters on Wednesday, hours after the news first broke, Altman said health factored into his decision. While it's not anything life-threatening, he said he had a physical last month that revealed he is "not as healthy as I should be and not as healthy as I want to be." Beyond that, the rationale for his retirement sounded quite a bit like Pearl's from 13 months ago.

"Someone I truly respect, Tom Izzo, made a comment. Somebody asked him about retirement, and he said, ‘The minute I don't feel good, the minute I don't feel I'm giving my AD, president and school every ounce of energy I have every day, or that energy drops, you don't have to worry about me being here,'" Altman said. "I had two weeks off in August, and I thought my energy would return, and it didn't. And some people I trust and truly respect told me just delegate more and take it easier, back off a little bit, and I tried that for a couple weeks in September, and that's not me. It's not what I've done for 37 years.

"I looked in the mirror, and I'd be a hypocrite if I lied to myself and said I was the best coach for the job. I think Tony will do a better job than I would with this team."

For such a deeply personal decision, he deserves some grace. Like it is for even some of the best coaches in the sport’s history, it was just time, even if it came at an awkward point in the calendar.

His choice to leave the sideline, though, can’t be separated from the similar moves that were made in the preceding years. While Bennett’s departure could have been written off as a realization that came off at an inopportune time, Altman’s exit shows there’s a trend.

The sport is changing at a dizzying pace, which has undoubtedly made coaches’ lives more burdensome. But in college football, where coaches deal with many of the same newfound headaches, there hasn’t been an avalanche of June and July retirements. Nor is it an issue in women's college basketball, where legends like Tara VanDerveer and Muffet McGraw retired in recent years the spring, giving their players, assistants and universities plenty of time to adjust before the first tip-off of the next season.

Why it’s happening remains a mystery without a clear throughline. But in the meantime, these late-breaking retirements have effects on others, namely the players who, for as demonized as they can be in the current NIL landscape, will have to trudge through what’s likely to be a lost season without the coach for whom they came there to play.

And in a sport littered with coaching luminaries who are in their 60s and 70s, Altman’s likely not to be the last to call it quits on the eve of a season. We’ll just have to wait 11 or 12 months to see who’s next.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dana Altman's retirement in offseason's twilight becomes latest in mysterious trend

Longtime Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman announced his retirement from coaching on Wednesday, Oct. 7, less than a month from the Ducks' season opener against Montana on Nov. 2.

Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will serve as the interim coach, per the announcement. Prior to his second stint as an assistant under Altman in Oregon, Stubblefield was most recently the head coach at DePaul, accumulating a 28-54 record in three seasons with the Demons before he was fired.

REQUIRED READING: Oregon basketball coach Dana Altman retiring less than one month before season starts

Altman, 68, is the winningest coach in program history, with 382 wins across 16 seasons in Eugene. He led the Ducks to an Elite Eight appearance in 2016 and a Final Four in 2017, and has the 15th-most wins in NCAA history, ending his career with a 792-425 career record.

Stubblefield has deep ties to Oregon and Altman, having served as a longtime Ducks assistant under the school's winningest coach ever. It's unclear if Stubblefield is a band-aid option for the Ducks, or if he's a potential long-term coach for the school.

Here's what to know of Stubblefield, Oregon's new interim coach:

Will Tony Stubblefield be Oregon's next head coach?

There's still an entire season to be played, so it's unclear if Stubblefield will be considered for Oregon's full-time role.

However, winning cures all, right?

It's hard to imagine Stubblefield not having a real shot to lift his interim tag if the Ducks were to find success in 2026-27. Stubblefield has head coaching experience, although it might not be working in his favor, due to DePaul's struggles from 2021-24.

Stubblefield was also once an interim coach in 2004-05 at New Mexico State, as then-head coach Lou Henson battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Aggies went 2-12 in 14 games under Stubblefield.

Stubblefield does know the Oregon job, though: He previously spent 13 seasons as Altman's lead assistant with the Ducks, and was credited with the recruitments of future NBA players Payton Pritchard, Chris Duarte, Bol Bol and Troy Brown Jr.

Oregon said a national search will commence for a head coach after the season.

Tony Stubblefield coaching record

Stubblefield's head coaching record isn't great. He served as the interim head coach for 14 games in 2004-05 at New Mexico State, before he later landed his first head coaching gig at DePaul from 2021-24.

Here's a look at his year-by-year record:

• 2004-05 (New Mexico State): 2-12 *
• 2021-22 (DePaul): 15-16
• 2022-23 (DePaul): 10-23
• 2023-24 (DePaul): 3-15

* interim coach

Tony Stubblefield coaching path

Stubblefield has mostly served as an assistant during his long coaching career. Here's how his career path has unfolded:

• 1993-95: Assistant at Nebraska-Omaha
• 1995-96: Assistant at UTSA
• 1996-2000: Assistant at UT-Arlington
• 2000-05: Assistant at New Mexico State
• 2005: Interim head coach at New Mexico State
• 2005-06: Assistant at New Mexico State
• 2006-10: Assistant at Cincinnati
• 2010-21: Assistant at Oregon
• 2021-24: Head coach at DePaul
• 2024-26: Assistant at Oregon
• 2026: Interim head coach at Oregon

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Tony Stubblefield be Oregon's next coach? What to know of interim, longtime assistant

Four years ago, Cole Swider made his NBA debut for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played seven games before bouncing across the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors for brief spells in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Last year, he spent the season in Europe playing for Anadolu Efes, making 51 combined appearances between EuroLeague and the Turkish Super League.

Now, he’s back with the Lakers on an Exhibit 10 contract and is eager to show how much he’s improved in numerous ways.

“I’ve worked really, really hard on my body. Shout out to my performance coaches, Nick Correa and Anthony Tingley. I’ve worked really, really hard on my body. I’ve tried to change a lot of things,” Swider told reporters. “I’ve worked with doctors. I worked with many, many different people. It’s mostly defensively, trying to figure that side of the basketball out at this level. And then just being a more dynamic shooter, being able to come off of pin downs and DHOs and being able to cause havoc on the court just with my spacing ability.”

Whether it be in college, Europe or the G League, Swider’s been an excellent outside shooter. He shot 38% from deep in college, 45% in the G League and 41% overseas. Thus far, though, those long-range credentials haven’t translated to the NBA, where he’s made only 32.9% (28-of-85) of his career attempts.

That’s a much smaller sample than everything else, however, so perhaps a larger sample and Swider’s diligent work will help him showcase his elite shooting in the Association. If he’s actually a high-level shooter and has made physical improvements to take strides defensively, his chances of sticking around in the league are much higher.

Swider didn’t play Monday night against the Sacramento Kings but saw 12 minutes of action Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors and scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc. He also recorded two steals, two assists and two rebounds. He’ll hope to keep his torrid outside shooting going when the Lakers face the Kings Thursday night at home.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

After spending the first 2.5 years of his NBA career with Luka Dončić, Jaden Hardy reunited with the Slovenian this offseason when the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers executed a trade sending Hardy back to the Western Conference. With Quentin Grimes as the lone other former Dallas Mavericks teammate of Dončić’s on the roster — and they were only together for half a season — that gives Hardy the most experience of any Laker playing and being alongside Dončić.

Early on in their second stint together, Hardy believes Dončić, now 27 years old, has leveled up as a leader, focused on ensuring everyone is communicating and working toward a common goal.

“I mean, obviously, Luka’s always been a great leader ever since I’ve been with him. I feel like he’s just taking it to another step with that,” Hardy told reporters. “Just trying to lead this group, have everybody on the same page and having a tightened connection with everybody. So I feel like that’s good and I feel like Luka, he’s always just himself. When he’s out there, he’s going to tell you things and he’s going to try to make you a better player.”

This season will mark Dončić’s second full campaign with the Lakers and first without LeBron James. It seems entirely plausible James’ departure has thrust larger leadership responsibilities on Dončić (and Austin Reaves) that the superstar point guard is growing into as he becomes increasingly comfortable in Los Angeles.

The Lakers’ roster is built in his image rather than being caught between trying to optimize both him and James simultaneously. They re-signed their high-level secondary creator in Reaves, with whom Dončić shares a strong connection on and off the court. They acquired a defensive-minded, play-finishing center in Walker Kessler, whom Dončić was eager to land. They added a mix of floor-spacers, defenders and tertiary ball-handlers to complement him on both ends.

Now equipped with a sensible roster for Dončić, the Lakers are expecting a tremendous season out of him as he presumably enters his prime years. While the on-court output is most impactful and vital, it also sounds like he’s taking another step forward in how he leads this group, at least according to his longest-tenured teammate.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

Who: Phoenix Suns (0-1) vs. Chicago Bulls (0-0)

When: 5:00pm Arizona Time

Where: United Center — Chicago, Illinois

Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports, Suns+

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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The Suns checked out of Heartbreak Hotel with a one-point loss in preseason game number one. That hotel is kind of like the one you check into for five hours of shut-eye on a long trip – not memorable – as these games don’t count. 

Our starters were mostly solid, and the team built a 19-point first-half lead. Things got sloppy as the team committed 22 second-half turnovers. Coach Jordan Ott will want to see a cleaner game tonight, especially as the Suns have had a game to dust things off while the Bulls are playing their opener. This is Tiago Splitter’s first game as Chicago’s head coach.  

It’s another chance to monitor all those season storylines: how it looks during the minutes Phoenix’s starters play, which players fighting for rotation spots perform well with the core, and who steps up on the back end of the roster.

Tale of the Tape

All of the statistics listed below are from last season.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Mark Williams — OUT (Shoulder)

Bulls

• Nicolas Claxton — OUT (Hamstring)
• Zach Collins — Game Time Decision (Toe)

What to Watch For

• Game one was a nice first step for integrating Miles Bridges with the starters. Will his overall game continue to gel?
• Per an SI interview on Tuesday, coach Splitter said of his two young starting forwards, “I want them to be a little more aggressive, dictating the offense instead of just waiting to attack.” This is a good opportunity to see how the Suns’ switchable defenders, such as Brooks, Bridges, and bench mobsters Rasher Fleming, Jordan Goodwin, and Koa Peat, perform.
• Will the free-throw shooting improve? Special attention to this for players such as Ighadaro, Fleming, Peat, and Khaman Maluach, who shot a combined 1-for-10 in the preseason game 1.
• Will Maluach get more run with the starters to see how that may look going forward? Or does it appear Ott is set on giving the rookie more time before being thrust into the starting lineup?

Keys to a Suns Win

1. Play a clean game with fewer lost possessions, as seen in the second half Monday night. The preseason can set a tone, and one that includes sloppy ball control is not the tone we want.
2. New Bulls guard Norman Powell seems to go off on the Suns, as evidenced by three 20-point games in his last four matchups. Can he be defended soundly without unnecessary fouls or wide-open three-point looks?
3. The Suns’ center rotation takes advantage of Jalen Smith and a dinged-up big man crew for Chicago.

Prediction

Suns get the W in sound fashion, continuing to show the first unit’s potential and shooting better at the stripe, while taking advantage of the Bulls’ first-game sloppiness.

Suns 112, Chicago 98

A prevailing theme of the offseason, media day and the preseason has been Quentin Grimes’ prominent role on this Los Angeles Lakers team. His offensive punch as a shooter, driver and connective passer is appealing — and perhaps vital to Los Angeles reaching its ceiling on that end — but the Lakers are also hoping he can rediscover the defensive form he showed earlier in his career.

Thus far, through training camp and two preseason games, head coach JJ Redick is pleased with Grimes’ all-around performance. He scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting Monday night against the Sacramento Kings before following that up with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors.

“I think he’s a guy that, If needed, can create some advantages and, for that second-side action, can finish advantages offensively,” Redick told reporters following Los Angeles’ 124-98 defeat to the Warriors. “I think his commitment to the defensive end has been really good throughout camp and in these first two games. We’re excited about him.”

Grimes seems nearly entrenched as a starter alongside Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, so his off-ball scoring and perimeter defense are crucial to his fit in the starting unit. He has plenty of experience thriving next to ball-dominant creators (Dončić himself included) and taking on arduous defensive assignments every night, so the blueprint for success is there.

Most intriguing about Redick’s comments above is believing Grimes “can create some advantages” himself. Presumably, much of the offense will flow through Dončić and Reaves but how much bandwidth might Grimes receive to initiate the occasional pick-and-roll or dribble handoff? He handled the ball fairly often during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers but they didn’t have the wealth of perimeter creation that Los Angeles does.

Still, it’s worth monitoring the level of freedom Redick grants Grimes in this offense, given the confidence he seems to have in his skill-set, and whether Grimes can maximize those opportunities. The play-finishing and perimeter defense are the most important elements but it’s possible he provides a bit more to make the Lakers an even more dangerous group offensively.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

There’s only been one preseason game and there’s already a laundry list of injuries. Sixers basketball could not be more back.

While Ariel Hukporti’s achilles injury is the only ailment that poses long-term problems for the Sixers, Nick Nurse had an update on three other players who’ve picked up bumps and bruises so far this preseason.

Dominick Barlow is still not practicing with what has been described as a back issue. Anfernee Simons was a partial participant with hamstring tightness. A hamstring issue is never what you want to hear, but at least it’s not related to the hand injury that plagued Simons last season.

Adem Bona seems to be progressing as the team had hoped. He is back on the court doing work as well as they get closer to the two weeks into training camp timeline the team gave when his injury was first announced. Unsurprisingly, all three players have already been ruled out for Thursday’s preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets.

While the Sixers wait for them to get back on the floor, especially the two guys in the front court, it appears to be all hands on deck to fill those backup center minutes. Nurse basically said that every front court player on the roster — even LeBron James — could be an option to play backup center minutes behind Joel Embiid.

“Dean [Wade] would be another candidate, I guess,” Nurse said. “If you call him a small five — he’s pretty good sized. I think LeBron is another candidate. I think he’s played some small-ball five as well. How many is that? That’s like four or five guys. So I think that we know probably go with that crew, unless something else emerges.”

While they try to figure out the backup center position on the fly, it looks like most of the big names will be available for Thursday’s game. Nurse said he’s hoping to get majority of their guys on the floor. It sounds like it could be the first (preseason) basketball game LeBron James plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We should be able to get a majority of the guys out there tomorrow,” Nurse said. “Again, we’ll see. Was a pretty rough and physical today practice, so see how everybody comes out of it. We should be able to get them out there tomorrow.”

Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis is on the last year of his current contract. While it was known that serious negotiations wouldn’t begin until after the 2026-27 season, it’s also likely that he will not get a maximum contract, according to David Aldridge and Joshua Robbins of The Athletic. Here is a snippet from their article.

It is well known among other NBA teams that Davis, who holds a $62.8 million player option that he can exercise for the 2027-28 season, wants a contract extension or a new deal that would pay him at, or very near, maximum salaries. If he were to turn down his player option now, Davis would be eligible for up to a four-year extension, through the 2030-31 season, worth as much as $275 million total.

…

But there’s almost no chance the Wizards will give him that max extension — not with his injury history, not at his age, not with the team in this stage of its development and the punitive first and second aprons looming.

The Wizards are also trying to maintain salary flexibility over the medium term as they look to be competitive this season and beyond. After all, most of Washington’s key players are still on their rookie contracts.

Do you see Davis staying beyond 2026-27? Let us know in the comments below.

Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman is retiring, the program has announced: a stunning move, particularly since it takes place less than one month before the 2026-27 season begins.

Longtime assistant coach and former DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield will serve as the interim coach for the upcoming season, while Oregon said it will search for a permanent coach after the season.

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"I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful. I love coaching, it's what I know best and what I've been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades. I'm going to miss my coaches, my players and our incredible fans more than I can express," Altman said in a statement. "But I know this is the right thing to do at this time."

The winningest coach in program history, Altman has been at Oregon since 2010. He made the Ducks a consistent contender during his 16 seasons in Eugene, winning four Pac-12 regular-season title and four Pac-12 Tournament championships. He led the team to nine NCAA tournament berths, including four trips to the Sweet 16, two to the Elite Eight and the 2017 Final Four that was the program's first appearance in 78 years.

However, Altman is coming off his worst season of his tenure. Injuries and inconsistent play led to a 12-20 record and a 5-15 mark in the Big Ten that resulted in a 15th-place finish, the first time Oregon had finished worse than eighth in its conference and didn't win at least 20 games.

There was massive turnover on Oregon's roster going into the 2026-27 season, as well.

The timing of the decision is notable, considering the preparation for the 2026-27 season is in full swing. Oregon is set to participate in Big Ten media days on Thursday, Oct. 8, and its first scrimmage is scheduled against Seattle on Oct. 15. The Ducks officially kick off the season on Nov. 2 against Montana.

Why did Dana Altman retire?

Altman said in a press conference his energy was low and he took two weeks off in August hoping "my energy would return, and it didn't."

"Some people I trust and truly respect told me just delegate more and take it easier, back off a little bit, and I tried that for a couple weeks in September, and that's not me. It's not what I've done for 37 years," he said. "I looked in the mirror, and I'd be a hypocrite if I lied to myself and said I was the best coach for the job."

The former coach added that his health also played a factor, but he isn't facing anything serious.

"I had a physical last month, and I'm not as healthy as I should be, and not as healthy as I want to be," Altman said. "Nothing serious, nothing life-threatening, nothing like that. But I'm 68, and I want to hang around for a while."

Dana Altman record

Altman finishes with a record of 382-182 with Oregon. Combined with his tenures at Marshall, Kansas State and Creighton, Altman has a 792-425 record in 37 seasons as a Division I coach, the 15th-most wins in NCAA history.

Dana Altman age

Altman turned 68 years old on June 16. He began coaching in the 1980-81 basketball season as an assistant at Western Colorado. He had his first Division I head coaching job at Marshall in 1989-90, then Kansas State (1990-94), Creighton (1994-2010) and Oregon (2010-26).

Who is replacing Dana Altman? What to know of Tony Stubblefield

Oregon's coach for the 2026-27 season will be Tony Stubblefield, who is very familiar with the Ducks after spending 13 seasons on Altman's staff. He arrived with Altman in 2010 and spent 11 seasons as an assistant, including on the 2017 Final Four team.

Stubblefield got his first head coaching role at DePaul in 2021. After he led the Blue Demons to 15 wins in his first season, he was unable to build on it and was fired midway through his third season in 2023-24. He finished his tenure with a 28-54 record.

He returned to Oregon in 2024 and has been with the team for the past two seasons.

Stubblefield will hold a virtual news conference at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oregon basketball coach Dana Altman retiring less than one month before season starts