Nate Oats answers if he would consider accepting an NBA coaching job one day

Nate Oats wouldn’t rule out coaching in the NBA one day. The Alabama basketball coach hasn’t been approached, and likely isn’t looking to move anytime soon, but the allure of the pros is something he’d consider down the line.

“Yeah, maybe, if the opportunity came up,” Oats said on Inside College Basketball Now. “It’s not like I’ve turned down an NBA job. They’ve never been offered to me. So I don’t want to act like, I’m not Dan Hurley. I didn’t get an NBA offer. I got a win at a higher level here, but the travel in the NBA, I don’t know if that’s conducive to raising my kids at the age they’re at right now. So I love it here.”

Oats conceded the thrill of competition would attract him to the NBA. Being able to coach the best players in the world on the biggest stage around the globe is tantalizing, should you get there.

“The one thing that would intrigue you is competing at that level, that’s the best level of basketball in the world,” Oats said. “So, you know, there’s a competitive nature, and everybody wants to compete against the best of what they do. And I feel like this is a really high level. And we got some of the best coaches in the history of basketball coaching right now. (But) some of the best coaches are coaching in our league (in the SEC) right now. I mean, look at some of the guys in our league. They’re in the Hall of Fame. 

“(John) Calipari’s won national championships. Rick Barnes, one of the best coaches ever. You look at somebody, Coach Pearl just retired. He’s won absolutely everywhere he’s been. He’s not in the Hall of Fame. great chance he ends up there. Like, I’ve gotten to coach against some of the best coaches that I’ve ever coached. We just, I lost to him, but we just coached against Mark Few, will be in the Hall of Fame. So I love it where I’m at now.” 

Oats is 152-65 at Alabama after going 96-43 at Buffalo over the course of four seasons. Aside from the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament, Oats and the Crimson Tide have qualified for March Madness each season, were SEC champs in 2021 and ‘23 and made the Final Four in 2024.

“I wouldn’t say I would never be interested in (the NBA), but at the stage of life I’m in right now, I couldn’t be in a better spot, testing myself against some of the best in the world,” Oats said. “I mean, shoot, I’ve got Chris Fleming on staff. Was a German national team head coach. He’s my assistant now. Like, what? I was at Romulus High School 10 years ago or 12 years ago … Like, I’m a high school coach that caught a couple breaks in life. I’m gonna be super happy for what my situation is. I love where I’m at right now, and I’m learning a lot of basketball still.”