Bob McKillop Announces Retirement From Davidson After 33 Years

The Naismith Hall of Fame nominee famously coached 2022 NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry for three seasons.

Legendary Davidson coach Bob McKillop, who coached 2022 NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry for three seasons, has announced his retirement after 33 years with the program.

The news of McKillop’s retirement was first reported by Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports on Friday, and later confirmed by the school in a press release. The 71-year-old coach will be replaced at Davidson by his son, Matt, a former Wildcat standout who joined the staff as an assistant coach in 2008, as first reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.

With a 634–380 record and 23 conference championships to his name, McKillop concludes his acclaimed Davidson career as the winningest coach in program history. Most recently, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame nominee guided the Wildcats to a 27–7 record and their first NCAA tournament berth since 2018 while earning his 10th career Conference Coach of the Year award.

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The peak of McKillop’s standout tenure came in 2008 when he and Curry, coming off a breakout sophomore campaign, led Davidson to an unbelievable NCAA tournament run. After finishing the year 26–6 with a 20–0 effort in conference play, the No. 23 Wildcats knocked off Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin before narrowly falling to eventual national champion Kansas in the Elite Eight.

McKillop was named the 2007-08 NABC National Coach of the Year that season while Curry, the No. 7 overall pick in 2009, was named a consensus second-team All-American and Southern Conference Player of the Year. Additionally, Davidson tied the school’s single-season record for wins (29) and posted the nation’s longest winning streak (25). 

In all, McKillop’s teams reached postseason play 19 times, including 10 NCAA tournament trips. His teams also eclipsed the 20-win mark 17 times, 11 of which came during his 22 seasons in the Southern Conference before Davidson moved to the Atlantic 10 in 2014.

McKillop coached 57 professional players as well as eight All-Americans, an Academic All-American, 11 Conference Players of the Year, five Freshman of the Year and 73 all-conference selections. The Queens and Long Island native, and Hofstra alum agreed to become Davidson’s coach in May 1989 following a one-year stint as a Wildcat assistant in 1978 and a successful 10-year high school career in Long Island.

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