42 seasons at Duke, 42 facts for Coach K's career
Posted March 4, 2022 6:00 a.m. EST
Updated March 5, 2022 6:00 a.m. EST
Durham, N.C. — There are many superlatives to describe the legacy of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.
However, Coach K’s numbers and accomplishments speak for themselves.
When Duke hosts North Carolina at 6 p.m. ET Saturday, it will mark Krzyzewski's final time coaching the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Ahead of Coach K’s last home game, here is a look at 42 of his most impressive accomplishments during his 42-season run at Duke:
1.) Overall record of 1,196-365 (.766)
Krzyzewski is the all-time winningest men’s college basketball coach with a record of 1,196-365.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has the second-most NCAA victories with a record of 1,098-424.*
Editor's Note*: The NCAA vacated 15 wins from the 2004–05 season, 23 wins from the 2005–06 season, 22 wins from the 2006–07 season, seven wins from the 2010–11 season, and 34 wins from the 2011–12 season as a result of the Syracuse athletics scandal. Not including the vacated wins, Boeheim's record has an overall record of 997*–423.
2.) Five NCAA Championships
Under Krzyzewski, Duke has won five national championships:
- April 1, 1991: Duke 72, Kansas 65
- April 6, 1992: Duke 71, Michigan 51
- April 2, 2001: Duke 82, Arizona 72
- April 5, 2010: Duke 61, Butler 59
- April 6, 2015: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63
UCLA legend John Wooden is the only men’s basketball coach who has won more NCAA championships than Krzyzewski with a total of 10.
Duke has appeared in nine national championship games during Krzyzewski’s tenure.
3.) Duke has made 12 Final Four appearances under Coach K
Krzyzewski’s 12 Final Four appearances are tied with Wooden for most in NCAA history.
4.) NCAA Tournament record of 97-30
Coach K’s 97 NCAA tournament victories are 17 more than University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill legend Roy Williams, who retired after the 2020-2021 season.
5.) A total of 35 NCAA Tournament appearances
When Duke makes the “the Big Dance” in 2022, it will mark 36 tournament appearances for Duke during Krzyzewski’s tenure.
Duke enters Saturday’s game against North Carolina ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll.
6.) Duke made 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments
Coach K took Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 24 consecutive years from 1996 to 2019 – the longest streak in NCAA history. It surpassed UNC legend Dean Smith's 23 consecutive appearances from 1975-1997.
In 2021, an cluster of COVID cases caused the Blue Devils to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995, not including the canceled tournament in 2020.
7.) Duke has won 15 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championships under Coach K
Coach K has won two more ACC tournament titles than UNC legend Dean Smith. Among the active ACC coaches, Virginia’s Tony Bennett has won the conference tournament twice.
Duke enters the 2022 ACC Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.
8.) Blue Devils have won 13 ACC regular season titles
Krzyzewski won the conference regular season title in 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997–2001, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2022.
9.) Three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year
Krzyzewski won the Naismith College Coach of the Year in 1989, 1992 and 1999.
10.) Five-time ACC Coach of the Year
Krzyzewski has won ACC Coach of the Year five times in his career: 1984, 1986, 1997, 1999 and 2000.
11.) 15 30-win seasons
Coach K holds the NCAA record with 15 30-win seasons. Entering the 2021-2022 season, he averaged 27 wins per year at Duke.
12.) ACC record of 466–192
Duke has a 466-192 ACC record during Krzyzewski’s 42-year tenure.
13.) Home record at Cameron Indoor Stadium of 572-75
Krzyzewski has a 572-75 (.884) home record and had 11 undefeated home seasons while playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
14.) Induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame
In 2001, Krzyzewski got inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
15.) Other Hall of Fame honors
Coach K has also been inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006), Army Sports Hall of Fame (2009), the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame (2010) and the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame (2011).
16.) Three Olympic Gold medals as head coach
Krzyzewski served as the head coach of the United States men’s basketball team that won three Olympic gold medals: At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
17.) Other medals
As the U.S. men’s basketball head coach, Krzyzewski won gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championship. He also won a gold at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. Coach K won bronze medals at the 1990 and 2006 FIBA World Championship.
As an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s basketball team, Coach K won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics, as part of the 1992 Summer Olympics “Dream Team” and at the 1992 FIBA Americas Championship.
18.) Nine Duke players win a total of 11 National Player of the Year honors
Coach K holds the NCAA record for total National Player of the Year honors by one coach.
It includes coaching Johnny Dawkins (1986), Danny Ferry (1989), Christian Laettner (1992), Elton Brand (1999), Shane Battier (2001), Jason Williams (2001, 2002), J.J. Redick (2005, 2006), Marvin Bagley III (2018) and Zion Williamson (2019).
Battier and Williams shared the award in 2001 to become the first duo from the same team to both lay claim to the Naismith Trophy.
19.) A total of 12 Duke players have won a total of 14 ACC Player of the Year Awards
Krzyzewski has coached 12 Duke players to a total of 14 ACC Player of the Year awards. Danny Ferry and J.J. Redick are two-time winners.
20.) 31 players have earned 51 All-American honors
Entering the 2021-2022 season, Coach K has coached an All-American in 31 of his 41 seasons at Duke, including in 13 of the last 14 seasons.
21.) Nine Blue Devils win ACC Freshman of the Year honors
The list includes: Chris Duhon (2001), Kyle Singler (2008), Austin Rivers (2012), Jabari Parker (2014), Jahlil Okafor (2015), Brandon Ingram (2016), Marvin Bagley III (2018), Zion Williamson (2019) and Vernon Carey Jr. (2020).
22.) Four ACC Defensive Player of the Year Awards
Coach K has coached four ACC Defensive Players of the Year: Shelden Williams won in 2005 and 2006, DeMarcus Nelson in 2008 and Tre Jones in 2020.
23.) 42 first-round NBA Draft picks
Krzyzewski has coached 68 NBA Draft picks during his time at Duke. It includes total of 42 first-round selections, which leads all active coaches.
Duke has had at least one player taken in 34 of the 41 NBA Drafts during the Krzyzewski era.
24.) Three No. 1 overall picks in the NBA Draft
Three Duke players have gotten selected with the first overall pick of the NBA Draft under Krzyzewski.
- 1999: Elton Brand
- 2011: Kyrie Irving
- 2019: Zion Williamson
25.) Most lottery picks in NBA Draft history with 28
Since the NBA Draft Lottery began in 1985, Coach K and Duke have produced 28 lottery picks. It is a draft-record total for both a school and a coach.
26.) Helped place 14 freshman in the NBA Lottery
Coach K has helped 14 freshmen get selected in the NBA Lottery. It includes Corey Maggette (1999), Luol Deng (2004), Kyrie Irving (2011), Austin Rivers (2012), Jabari Parker (2014), Jahlil Okafor (2015), Justise Winslow (2015), Brandon Ingram (2016), Jayson Tatum (2017), Marvin Bagley III (2018) and Wendell Carter Jr. (2018), Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish (2019).
27.) $2.5 billion in NBA contracts
Through the 2020-2021 season, Krzyzewski’s former Duke players have accumulated more than $2.5 billion in NBA contracts.
28.) A total of 21 former Coach K players are currently on NBA rosters
As of February, there are 21 former players who played for Coach K on NBA rosters. It includes Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum and Brandon Ingram.
29.) Five former players have become NBA champions
Five of Coach K’s former players have been part of NBA championship teams: Danny Ferry (2003), Shane Battier (2012, 2013), Kyrie Irving (2016), Dahntay Jones (2016) and Quinn Cook (2018, 2020).
30.) 84 McDonald’s All-Americans have played at Duke
Duke has signed at least one McDonald’s All-American in each of the last 38 years. The 84 McDonald’s All-Americans who have played at Duke are the most of any coach.
31.) 10 former players or staff are currently Division I head coaches
The coaches with ties to Krzyzewski are: Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Kenny Blakeney (Howard), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh), Chris Collins (Northwestern), Johnny Dawkins (Central Florida), Bobby Hurley (Arizona State), Nate James (Austin Peay), Greg Paulus (Niagara) and Mike Schrage (Elon).
32. It’s been 15,070 days since Krzyzewski’s first win as Duke’s coach
Nov. 29, 1980, marked Krzyzewski’s first win as Duke’s head coach, a 67-49 victory over Stetson.
33.) 73-59 record coaching Army
Krzyzewski coached his alma mater for five years before coming to Duke, compiling a 73-59 record. He led the Cadets to one NIT berth and one ECAC playoff appearance.
34.) Military service
Krzyzewski went to West Point and enrolled in the U.S. Military Academy. He received an education, played basketball under legendary coach Bob Knight and became an officer in the Army.
Krzyzewski was discharged from active duty in 1974 with the rank of captain.
35.) College coaching career started at age 26
Krzyzewski started his college coaching career as an assistant on Bob Knight's staff with the Indiana Hoosiers during their historic 1974–75 season (31-1 record, 18-0 in the Big Ten Conference).
36.) Second-longest tenure at one school
Only Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim (46 years) has a longer tenure at one school than Krzyzewski (42 years at Duke).
37.) Nov. 27, 2019: Duke’s 150-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents gets snapped
On Nov. 27, 2019, Stephen F. Austin beat Duke 85-83 in overtime to snap the Blue Devils’ 150-game home winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium against non-conference opponents.
38.) 50-46 record against North Carolina
Krzyzewski has an overall record of 50-46 against UNC with a 17-19 mark in the Dean Dome.
39.) 32-game winning streak
Duke's longest winning streak in school history was 32 games. The streak spanned from Dec. 2, 1998, through March 27, 1999. The streak was broken by a 77-74 loss to UConn in the 1999 National Championship game.
40.) $3,250 per ticket for Coach K’s final home game
As of Thursday afternoon, the cheapest ticket was $3,250 on StubHub for Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
41.) Two books published
Coach K and his daughter, Jamie Spatola, have also written two books together. “Beyond Basketball: Coach K’s Keywords for Success,” was released in October 2006 and “The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team” was released in April 2009.
42.) Family man
Krzyzewski and his wife Mickie have three daughters: Jamie Spatola, Debbie Savarino and Lindy Frasher. Mickie and Mike Krzyzewski also have 10 grandchildren.
Editor’s Note: Information from GoDuke.com and the Associated Press was used for this story.
