Florida basketball fans should savor each minute of the 2026-27 season under Todd Golden.
Because the clock is ticking.
Golden, who turns 41 on July 7, already has delivered an NCAA championship, an SEC Tournament championship and SEC regular season title in four years leading the Florida Gators. He brings back a loaded roster, led by 2026-27 Naismith Player of the Year candidate Thomas Haugh, that should be named as the preseason No. 1 team in the country next October.
But the Dallas Mavericks hiring of Michigan’s Dusty May (a former UF assistant) shows that NBA franchises are willing to give chances to elite college coaches again.
Golden checks the box as an elite college coach.
Like May, who won a national title with five transfers at Michigan in 2026, Golden has proven masterful with roster construction during his UF tenure, finding hidden gems in the transfer portal, overseas and through high school recruiting.
Golden is the kind of new-age coach NBA franchises are looking for, one that incorporates analytics in both player evaluation and in-game strategy. He’s a player’s coach in an era where the my-way-or-highway coaches have become obsolete.
And Golden understands the value of developing a deep and talented bench (Haugh should have won SEC Sixth Man of the Year in 2025 and Urban Klavzar won it for the Gators in 2026). The New York Knicks just won their first NBA title in 53 years in large part because their bench outperformed the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
How long can Florida basketball keep Todd Golden?
Golden will give UF at least one more year based on the loyalty that Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu showed in returning for another season rather than declaring for the NBA draft. The trio will form one of the top frontcourts in the country again in the 2026-27.
Beyond that will depend on a number of factors. Golden is entering the second year of six-year, $40.5 million contract extension after leading UF to its third national title in school history in 2025. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin has been working on another raise for Golden, but a new extension has yet to be signed.
Golden’s current buyout if he were to take another NBA job is $2 million. The buyout will drop to $1 million on March 31, 2028.
There is a laundry list of coaches who tried to make the jump from college to the NBA and failed —including Leonard Hamilton, former UF coach Lon Kruger, Mike Montgomery and John Beilien. Rick Pitino, John Calipari, P.J. Carlesimo and former UF coach Billy Donovan had pockets of NBA coaching success but couldn’t sustain it at an elite level.
Brad Stevens profiles similar to Golden as one of the first college basketball coaches to employ analytics in guiding Butler to back-to-back NCAA Finals trips in 2010 and 2011. Stevens went 352-282 in eight seasons as head coach of the Boston Celtics before moving upstairs to the front office in 2021. Three years later, Stevens built a Celtics roster that won the 2024 NBA title.
If May can lead the Dallas Mavericks back to the NBA playoffs (and with burgeoning star Cooper Flagg there’s no reason to think he couldn’t), it will provide proof of concept that today’s elite college coaches can succeed at the pro level.
Golden would be next in line to get that chance, especially if he leads Florida to another SEC title and Final Four next season. Enjoy him while you can, Gator fans. Because when the NBA comes calling, it’s hard to say no.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Why Florida basketball coach Todd Golden could be next to make NBA jump
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
