Former Florida Gators men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan agreed to a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Neither party has revealed the length or financial terms of the deal, besides it being a multi-year deal. Donovan had one year remaining on his contract. He’s been with Chicago for six seasons, compiling a 195-205 record. Over 10 seasons as an NBA coach, Donovan has a 438-362 record.
The Bulls made the play-in tournament for a third year in a row with a 39-43 record under Donovan last year. Despite the plateau of success, Donovan is getting this extension for guiding Chicago through the rebuild. The Bulls have traded Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach Levine in the past two seasons. Coby White and Josh Giddey are the new faces of the franchise.
Donovan has won everywhere he’s coached. Over 19 years at Florida, he won 467 and lost 185 for a .715 winning percentage. He’s over the 500-win threshold overall, counting the two seasons he was the head man at Marshall. Donovan began his career as an assistant at Kentucky.
The first five years of his NBA coaching career came with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he won 243 games at a 60.8% rate. The Thunder made the playoffs all five seasons under Donovan, but the Bulls have only made it once (2021-22) over the same period.
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