Dwane Lyndon Casey was born on April 17, 1957. He is a former basketball player, now head coach of the Detroit Pistons with the National Basketball Association (NBA). He held assistant positions in the NCAA and NBA before getting the chance to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves and later Toronto Raptors.
Casey was born in Morganfield, Kentucky, and graduated from Union County High School in 1975.
Casey has career averages of 1.3 points and 0.6 assists per game for the University of Kentucky varsity team, the Kentucky Wildcats. Casey served as the team captain during his senior year. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Business Administration degree in 1979 but was not drafted for the NBA.
Dwane Casey – Coaching career
Dwane Casey began his coaching journey in 1979 as an assistant coach with the Kentucky Wildcats.
At the end of March 1988, employees of the company Emery Worldwide discovered an envelope containing $1,000 for Claude Mills, father of Chris Mills young player that Kentucky was trying to recruit so much that it warranted bribery. Casey was identified as the sender of that envelope. The university then declared that the evidence gathered during the investigation is inconclusive and did not prove that Casey sent the money. The scandal, however, led to Casey’s resignation. He was also placed on probation for five years by the NCAA. His college coaching career was finished forever.
After he resigned from Kentucky, young Casey accepted a coaching position in the Japanese basketball league. While there, Casey trained the Sekisui Chemical and Isuzu Motors Lynx. He also served as an assistant coach of the Japanese national team.
Japan participated with him in staff at the 1998 world championship. Japan, which made its first appearance in the world championship since 1967, finished in fourteenth place at that competition.
Dwane Casey – NBA Career
Dwane Casey landed an assistant coach position for the Seattle SuperSonics at the beginning of his NBA journey. During his years in this position, the team won four division titles.
Casey got his first job as head coach of an NBA franchise in the 2005-2006 season, taking over from Kevin McHale at the helm of Timberwolves of Minnesota. The franchise fired him on January 2007 after only a year and a half, although the team then presented a balanced record of 20 wins, 20 losses in a season. His record with the Timberwolves is 53 wins and 69 losses.
For the 2008-2009 season, he returned to an assistant coach position with the Dallas Mavericks. During the following season, they won a division title. In 2011, Dallas played in the NBA Finals, where they competed against Miami Heat. They win the franchise’s first NBA title, led by Dirk Nowitzki.
Dwane Casey – Toronto Raptors
In June 2011, he joined the Toronto Raptors, replacing Canadian head coach Jay Triano.
Casey’s first two seasons with the Raptors were unsuccessful. The team exceeded expectations in the first season but not in the second. Toronto Raptors failed to reach the playoffs in both seasons. In his third season with the team, he managed to set a new record for most regular-season wins, in addition to an Atlantic Division title and his first playoff appearance in six years.
In May 2014, a day after being knocked out of the playoffs, Casey and the Raptors agreed on a three-year contract extension.
On November 1, 2015, Casey broke the franchise record of Sam Mitchell for the number of wins in the regular season, winning his 157th victory. The game was against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 106-87 score.
In March 2016, Casey became the first Raptors head coach to achieve 200 franchise wins over the Indiana Pacers with a 101-94 win, and twelve days later, in a 105-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, he took the Raptors to the first 50 wins a season in franchise history.
In May 2016, Casey helped the Raptors win the first Game 7 series in franchise history with an 89-84 victory against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. On May 15, he took the Raptors to their first conference final appearance in franchise history with a 116-89 victory over the Miami Heat before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. In June, he agreed with the Raptors to a contract extension.
On January 28, 2018, Casey became the first coach in Raptors history to be selected for the NBA All-Star Game. In February 2018, he celebrated his 300th victory as coach of the Raptors. The Casey’s Raptors set records for regular-season wins and points, finishing first in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Raptors beat the Washington Wizards in six games and were eliminated in four games by the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.
After seven years as a head coach of the Raptors, he was fired in May 2018, despite being named NBA Coach of the Year by the NBA coaches association. That was shocking news for the Raptors fans.
Dwane Casey – Detroit Pistons
In June, Dwane Casey became the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. In his first season with the team, they reached playoffs, where the team was eliminated in the first round, while his former team, the Toronto Raptors, won the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Raptors were coached by his former assistant Nick Nurse.
So far, Pistons can’t find their game and become one of the elite teams again. Many criticize their offense which is among the slowest ones in the League. On the other hand, young players are still learning how to play at the highest level, and it will take some more time before they reach their full potential.
Season 2021-2022 didn’t start as fans expected because the team has won only four from their first 25 games. Talks about possible coaching change are becoming louder and louder.
Still, nobody knows better than Casey how to overcome difficulties, so NBA fans shouldn’t be surprised if he turns things around.
What is Dwane Casey’s salary?
Casey’s salary per year is $7 million. In 2021 he signed a contract extension with the Pistons that will keep him on the helm till 2024.
Who is Dwane Casey’s wife?
Casey and his wife Brenda have two children, Justine and Zachary. They have been married since 2006. She has been a supportive wife, and Dwane mentioned her in his speech at the Coach of the Year ceremony. Brenda is also successful sports marketing executive.
