National Basketball Association

John Calipari drove Billy Donovan to NBA?

Published Apr. 30, 2015 11:16 p.m. ET

foxsports

The recent dominance and run of success for John Calipari at Kentucky helped push Billy Donovan to the NBA, according to a report.

Donovan, 49, coached at Florida from 1996 through this past season before accepting the head coaching job with the Oklahoma City Thunder this week. Though Donovan won two national championships at Florida (2006 and 2007) and reached four Final Fours (including one in 2014), he had expressed interest in the NBA in the past and even accepted the Orlando Magic job before deciding to return to the Gators in 2007. This time he might be gone for good because of the difficulty in competing with Kentucky.

Calipari came to Kentucky for the 2009-10 season and has had four dominant seasons. He has won a national championship in 2013, reached four Final Fours, and generally has been the top team in the SEC. With veteran coaches Ben Howland, Bruce Pearl and Avery Johnson joining the conference and Calipari running things, now was a good time for Donovan to get out.

Things will be tough in the NBA's ever-competitive Western Conference, but at least Donovan will have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on his side. That’s a darn good starting point.

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