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Nate Oats went to Boston last summer and spent a week with the Celtics. When he got back to Tuscaloosa, he joked that he blew up the plans for the new Alabama basketball practice facility. Throughout the building process for the facility, which will cost around $60 million, Oats has been heavily involved. In an interview with The Next Round on Thursday, he called it a one-of-a-kind facility.
As Oats has elevated Alabama basketball, the athletic department has responded in kind, giving him the tools necessary to compete at the highest level. Oats got a contract extension in March 2024 that called for him to make upwards of $7.5 million in the final year of his deal.
Is he still coaching at Alabama in 2030, though? With a modernized offense that has been among the best in college basketball in recent years, and a proven track record of success, maybe Oats is an attractive option for an NBA front office looking to shake things up.
During Thursday’s chat with The Next Round, Oats was asked directly if he saw the NBA in his future.
“I like studying the NBA. Not sure I’d want to coach there with all that,” Oats said. “On some level [it would be appealing] to go against the best in the world [but] the schedule, with the 82 games, with my daughters still being in high school, I don’t know if I’d like that.”
Oats ran through a lengthy list of acquaintances and friends throughout NBA coaching staffs. If he needed a reference or two, he might be able to get them.
But the schedule is a legitimate concern. Earlier in the interview, Oats mentioned he’d only just recently been able to take his boat out and spend time with his daughters. He plans to try and squeeze in a weekend vacation before SEC spring meetings and summer workouts in the coming weeks. With roster management being what it is, college basketball doesn’t really have much of an offseason anymore.
Yet the NBA’s time commitment is still more demanding.
The Tide are coming off a 28-win season and a trip to the Elite Eight. They went to the Final Four the year prior. In the last 5 years, Oats has earned top-4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament 4 times and advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in each of those 4 years. The chase for a national championship — what would be the program’s first — continues, though.
For the time being, that’s where Oats’ focus is.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
