Phoenix Suns Hire Earl Watson As Head Coach, Youngest in the NBA

The 36 year-old Watson replaced former Sun head coach Jeff Hornacek on Feb 1.

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Earl Watson is now the youngest in charge of an NBA coaching staff.

On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns dropped the term "interim" from Watson's head coach title, and have fully vested their confidence in the 36 year-old to take their head coaching position into next season. He is now the NBA's youngest head coach.

After playing 13 seasons in the NBA, and retiring after the 2013-2014 season, Watson has had a quick ascent in the league's coaching ranks. He was an assistant coach of the Suns D-League team, Austin Spurs, during the 2014-2015. Then before the beginning of the 2015-2016 season, he was moved up to assistant coach of the Suns. Watson replaced former head coach Jeff Hornacek, who was fired from the team on February 1 after starting this past regular season with a 14-35 record and 87-77 overall in two seasons with the Suns.

Suns general manager Ryan McDonough stated about Watson taking over the reins as head coach, "Earl did a very good job with our team last season after taking over as interim head coach during a challenging time for the organization." He continued, "Earl's natural leadership qualities and his ability to connect with and motivate our players have stood out throughout his time here in Phoenix. We are excited to see what he can do with a healthy roster after having a full offseason to prepare."

During Watson's 33-game tenure as interim head coach, the Suns had a 9-24 record, but became the second-ranked NBA team in rebounding. The Suns were one of the league's most improved defensive teams during the final month of the regular season, allowing 5.1 fewer points per 100 possessions in the team's final 16 games than their first 66 contests.

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[via NBA.com]

 

 

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