The Philadelphia 76ers’ changes in the coaching department have trickled down to the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. After hiring former player Coby Karl to take over as the Blue Coats’ head coach in 2021, the Sixers are expected to replace Karl with longtime assistant Mike Longabardi, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The move comes not long after the Blue Coats picked up their first NBA G League Finals win in the developmental franchise’s history. With Karl reportedly set to be replaced, he's expected to join the Sixers' coaching staff, according to Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice.
Meanwhile, the Blue Coats will get a new head coach that possesses tons of coaching experience. Longabardi’s NBA coaching career started in 2003 when he joined the Houston Rockets. After a four-year run with the Rockets, he moved on to coach with the Sixers’ Atlantic Division rivals, the Boston Celtics, working under former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and current New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
In 2013, Longabardi moved on to coach with the Phoenix Suns. Three years later, he was hired as an assistant under Tyrone Lue with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he held the position of Associate Head Coach. Since his run in Cleveland, Longabardi has had stints with the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, and, most recently, the Atlanta Hawks.
Longabardi enters the Sixers’ organization as a two-time NBA Champion. He’ll help run the Sixers’ developmental squad as the team enters a new coaching era with Nick Nurse, who was hired to replace Doc Rivers after a ten-year run with the Toronto Raptors.
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