Dan Hurley, head coach of the UConn Huskies, celebrates after winning the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I men's basketball tournament's title at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, April 8, 2024. /CFP
Dan Hurley has turned down a six-year, $70 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers to hire him as the team’s head coach, ESPN reported on Monday. Instead of going to the NBA, he will stay with the University of Connecticut Huskies to chase a third straight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship.
"I am humbled by this entire experience," Hurley said in a statement released by UConn. "At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today's workout, and our focus right now is getting better this summer, and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships."
Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract with the school in 2023. UConn has gone 68-11 under him and defended the NCAA title for the first time in team history after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 in the tournament‘’s final in April.
LeBron James (#23) of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, April 25, 2024. /CFP
The Lakers' offer to Hurley was generous enough to make him the sixth-highest-paid coach in the NBA, behind only Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors ($17.5 million per year), Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs ($16 million), Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat ($15 million), Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers ($14 million), and Monty Williams of the Detroit Pistons ($13 million).
UConn hasn't announced Hurley's decision, but Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut posted on X, "Our MVP Coach is staying in CT." "Now let's get ready for a #3peat, because Connecticut knows champions are built here!"
The Lakers finished the 2023-24 regular season as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and were knocked out by the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They fired coach Darvin Ham after the postseason exit.
Aside from Hurley, the team also has ESPN broadcaster JJ Reddick and the New Orleans Pelicans' associate head coach James Borrego on their list of candidates.