One of the looming backdrops with Florida Basketball in the coming years is whether or not Todd Golden is going to leave Gainesville for the pastures of the NBA. It is, after all, what lured Billy Donovan away from Florida. Michigan also just watched its national title-winning coach, Dusty May, walk out the door to become the Dallas Mavericks' head coach.
But with a loaded roster heading into the 2026/27 season, Golden claims the allure of the NBA is far from his mind and that he isn’t looking to make the jump anytime soon.
Todd Golden claims he is content staying at Florida for the foreseeable future
Golden spoke with Joe Tipton of On3 and discussed a variety of topics, including Thomas Haugh, overall roster construction, and his own coaching philosophy. At the end of the interview, he was asked about May leaving for the NBA. Golden noted that May is close to 50, while he is still just 41, so the timing for May was a bit better.
He ended by saying, “I’m going to enjoy being at Florida for a while.”
Note that the semantics of the statement weren’t “I’m going to enjoy being at Florida forever.”
NEW: Todd Golden tells @JoeTipton he and his staff are in a "really good spot at Florida" when asked about Dusty May leaving for the NBA🐊
— On3 (@On3) June 28, 2026
"I'm going to enjoy being at Florida for a while."
Story: https://t.co/gjIAA63aqT pic.twitter.com/TNCb47Ctqo
But as we noted after May jumped to the NBA, this isn’t new, and it’s not like it’s a hush-hush secret that Golden would one day like to coach in the NBA. For a brief moment, Gator fans had to watch as the Golden State Warriors tried to be linked with Golden, but those plans never came to fruition.
As much as Golden has been able to build a top-tier roster, and even though he is very well compensated at Florida, it’s more so a byproduct of college basketball being a complete mess. Teams are having to spend as much time in courtrooms as they are on the court itself. Throw in recruiting, NIL, and the transfer portal, and the allure of the NBA is that coaches can focus on basketball while letting others handle the rest.
So, for Florida fans, it’s best to take a one-year-at-a-time approach. What this past offseason did reveal is that Golden doesn’t seem interested in taking any other college job that might be available, no matter how much others try to link him to those jobs.
And if the NBA does come calling one day, hopefully it is with another national title in tow to help Golden ride off into the sunset.
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