Nets Ink Head Coach Jacque Vaughn to Multi-Year Extension
The Brooklyn Nets have signed head coach Jacque Vaughn to a multi-year contract extension. The team announced the deal on Tuesday morning.
"Jacque has made an immediate and immeasurable impact on our entire organization since assuming the role of head coach earlier this season," said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. "On the court, he's clearly demonstrated his leadership through his ability to connect and communicate at a very high level while displaying tremendous instincts for the game. As a person, they don't come better than Jacque. His character is impeccable, and there is no better representative for our team and our borough. We are thrilled to have Jacque lead the Nets for years to come."
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Nets extended Vaughn's contract to go past the 2023-24 season for multiple years.
Vaughn, who has been with the Nets organization since 2016, took over as Brooklyn's acting head coach on Nov. 1 (32-19). After eight short days, he took on the head coaching role full-time.
Since Nov. 1, he has led the Nets to the fifth-best record in the NBA (32-19). That record trails only the Boston Celtics (38-15), Denver Nuggets (37-15), Philadelphia 76ers (34-15), and the Milwaukee Bucks (35-17). Vaughn has also compiled the third-best road record across the league (16-11). Only the New York Knicks (17-9) and the Celtics (16-9) hold better road records since he took over as head coach.
The 48-year-old coach led Brooklyn to their winningest month in franchise history last December (12-1). That run included a 12-game win streak, which spanned (Dec. 7 - Jan. 2) into the longest winning streak this season (14 games). The 14-game winning streak is the third-longest win streak in franchise history. The historic run landed Vaughn the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. He became the sixth Nets' head coach to take home the honor and only the second head coach to play for the Nets and win the most significant monthly achievement for coaches.
In his tenure this season, the Nets have ranked top 10 in the league in blocks per game (first), 3-point percentage (first), field goal percentage (second), opponent field goal percentage (second), opponents points per game (fifth) and assists per game (eighth). To make things sweeter, Brooklyn is just one of three teams to boast a top-10 offense (seventh in offensive rating) and top-10 in defense (ninth in defensive rating) across the NBA.
Including his previous stint as Nets head coach, Vaughn has compiled a 39-22 overall record (63.9 winning percentage). That currently ranks as the second-best win percentage among head coaches in franchise history.