Getty George Karl poses for a portrait during his induction at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
George Karl received one of the best honors a coach can have when he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on September 10. While he may not have won a championship as a head coach, he guided three separate teams – Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets – to a conference finals, which included an NBA Finals birth with the SuperSonics in 1996.
On the same day as his induction, Karl spoke to Sirius XM NBA about his regrets as a coach. Karl went into specifics about his failures with specific all-stars he had on his roster, which included a Boston Celtics Hall of Famer.
“The guy that I feel I failed with a little bit, as a Hall of Fame player, a great player, is Ray Allen,” Karl said. “I think Ray Allen was one of the few players that probably had a better career after he was done with me.”
Does George Karl have any career regrets as he heads to the Hall of Fame?
@CoachKarl22 tells @Jumpshot8 & @DarthAmin he wishes he did more with Carmelo Anthony & Ray Allen.
Karl coached Allen from 1998 to 2003 with the Bucks, where they made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001. Allen achieved more success as a player – he made the All-NBA Second Team with the SuperSonics in 2005 – and more success with his teams after the Bucks traded him in 2003, having won one title each with the Celtics and Miami Heat.
Allen Never Understood Why Karl Didn’t Like Him
While promoting his autobiography, Allen talked to Gary D’Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 18, 2018, to talk about his relationship with Karl when Allen played for him and the Bucks.
Allen told D’Amato that while he never had any fights with Karl, he had heard from around the pine that his coach didn’t like him.
“The funny thing is, I never had any confrontation with George,” Allen said. “We never had arguments. It was always, ‘George doesn’t like you.’ I was hearing this from other people. Why? I think he didn’t like the way I was, the type of person I was.
“There was a Sports Illustrated article about me that said I wore a suit to games, and Karl said I cared more about being cool than being tough. Ultimately, he just didn’t like me.”
Allen went on to admit his relationship with Karl broke up a team that was one game away from the NBA Finals in 2001.
“It was broken apart in part because of George’s and my relationship,” Allen said. “It’s unfortunate. I felt like I was taking shots from him on a regular basis. There was always something he didn’t like about me. I was like, ‘Geez, there’s nothing I can do right for this guy.’”
The 2001 Postseason was the only year in which the Bucks made it past the first round with Allen on the team.
Karl Admitted His Mistakes With Carmelo Anthony
Karl coached Anthony from 2004 to 2011 with the Nuggets. The Nuggets made the playoffs every year but advanced past the first round only once in 2009, where they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
During that same interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Karl admitted he wished he had connected better with Anthony during their time together.
“I wish I would have gotten a better connection with (Carmelo). When we had a really good team here in Denver, and maybe a better connection would have put us over the top. Maybe a better connection with everybody. (Carmelo) and me. Me and the organization. (Carmelo) and the team. Because Carmelo is a sensational player. Maybe I should have been harder on him a little bit from the standpoint of winning a championship rather than just being a great player.”