Guards Steve Nash and James Harden would win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award playing under D'Antoni's system.

D'Antoni was signed by the Italian team Olimpia Milano, starting a career that saw him become the club's all-time leading scorer.

During his playing career in Italy, D'Antoni earned the nickname "Il Baffo" (Italian for "The Mustache"), in reference to his ever-present facial hair.

D'Antoni was then chosen to coach Benetton Treviso, another major Italian league basketball club.

D'Antoni's first NBA coaching job was with the Denver Nuggets in 1997–98 as the club's director of player personnel.

They made consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals in 2005 and 2006, losing to the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.

Although Steve Kerr requested he stay with the Suns, D'Antoni was told that he was free to speak with other teams about coaching jobs.

[13][14] After two losing seasons, D'Antoni with new additions Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to the playoffs in 2010–11 with a 42–40 record.

[9][18][19][20] The Lakers felt that D'Antoni's fast-paced style of play made him a "great fit" for the team, more suitable than Jackson's structured triangle offense.

[23] Bernie Bickerstaff, who was the Lakers' interim coach after Brown was fired, continued in that role after D'Antoni was hired.

[27] He reiterated general manager Mitch Kupchak's belief that the Lakers were built to win an NBA championship that season.

[31][32] Calling it a permanent move, D'Antoni benched forward Pau Gasol in mid-January and started Earl Clark to form the faster and smaller lineup the coach preferred.

[38] He likened the Lakers to an All-Star team in which "everybody gets the ball and goes one on one and then they play no defense",[39] adding that they "haven't learned that there's a pecking order" where stars need to know their roles.

[39] Center Dwight Howard struggled to run the pick and roll with Nash, a play D'Antoni expected to be a staple for the Lakers.

[42] The coach moved Nash off the ball and made him more of a spot-up shooter, while Bryant became the primary facilitator on offense.

[47] "The Lakers didn't help things by making the coaching change and putting [D'Antoni] in that situation, which he was glad to take.

[45] The Lakers faced San Antonio in the playoffs and lost in the opening round for the first time since 2007, suffering their first opening-round sweep since 1967.

However, the Rockets' playoff run ended in the NBA Western Conference finals after losing 4–3 to the Golden State Warriors.

[55] On May 30, 2019, after the considerable dismantling of the coaching staff,[56] D'Antoni announced that he decided not to renew his contract which was set to expire after the 2019–20 season.

[57] Prior to the announcement, he showed interest in signing a contract extension, stating: "I've let Daryl [Morey] and [owner] Tilman [Fertitta] know that I'm energized to keep coaching – and believe that I can continue to do this at a high-level for at least another three years.

"[58] On June 8, it was reported that Fertitta and D'Antoni were nearing an agreement on a contract extension after the language of a buyout was removed from the previous offer—which is what caused the initial talks to die out in the first place.

[60] On September 13, 2020, a day after Houston lost the conference semifinals 4–1 to the Lakers, D'Antoni announced that he would not return to the team.

[61] On October 30, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets hired D'Antoni as an assistant coach under his former Phoenix Suns player Steve Nash.

believed his familiarity with the three-point shot and the zone defense, hallmarks of the international game, were valuable assets to the team.

He reunited with Knicks players Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler on this team as they prepared for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

D'Antoni is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy, making him the first Italian to lead an NBA team.