Florida State has appointed former player and two-time NBA champion Luke Loucks as its new men’s basketball head coach, FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford announced Sunday.
“I’m pleased to share that Luke Loucks has accepted our offer to lead Florida State’s men’s basketball program,” Alford said. “He brings a distinctive blend of experience and qualities that will benefit our team, and I’m eager to see this new chapter unfold under his leadership. Luke has built a strong reputation in both professional and collegiate basketball, establishing himself as a rising star in coaching. As a former Seminole, he understands the program’s history and has a proven track record of player development at the highest levels of the sport.”
Florida State President Richard McCullough also expressed enthusiasm for Loucks’ return. “We are excited to welcome Luke Loucks back to Florida State as our next head coach,” he said. “His coaching expertise, leadership, and deep basketball knowledge make him the ideal choice to guide our program. As a former Seminole, he values the traditions that define FSU basketball, and I am confident that under his leadership, the program will continue to thrive and build upon its proud legacy. Welcome home, Coach Loucks!”
Loucks brings extensive experience from professional, collegiate, and international basketball, with a focus on on-court instruction and player development. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, following previous roles with the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
“I am deeply honored and excited to take on the role of head coach for Florida State men’s basketball,” Loucks said. “FSU has a strong basketball tradition, and I’m eager to build on the foundation set by past coaches, especially Coach Hamilton. I want to thank the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors for shaping my coaching career. My goal is to assemble a top-tier coaching staff—individuals who will challenge and support me while developing a highly competitive team each year. We will uphold a strong standard both on and off the court, fostering a championship-caliber culture. Having experienced success firsthand at Florida State, I am eager to achieve even more.”
During his NBA tenure, Loucks worked with elite players such as Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Zach LaVine. While he was with Golden State, Durant earned two NBA Finals MVP awards and was a first-team All-NBA selection. Curry received first-team All-NBA honors three times, while Green was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
“Our staff will recruit and develop talented, high-IQ, and highly skilled players with aspirations of reaching the professional level,” Loucks said. “Our mission is to shape them into a cohesive unit that embraces our vision and playing style. My wife and three children are thrilled to return to Florida, where our roots run deep. We are eager to create something special in Tallahassee.”
Loucks was also part of the coaching staff that helped the Warriors win back-to-back NBA championships, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 Finals in five games and sweeping them in 2018. During his four seasons with Golden State, the team posted an impressive 46-14 postseason record, including a historic 16-1 playoff run in 2017, the best winning percentage in a single postseason in NBA history.
“I’m very excited about the future of our men’s basketball program, and also very pleased that this new era will represent a bridge to a successful past with a path to an even brighter future,” Alford said. “I’m also excited that Luke and his wife, Stevi, both intimately understand the experience of being an FSU student-athlete. They understand what a special place this is, and I’m extremely grateful for their desire to want to be part of it again.”
Before returning to Florida State as head coach, Loucks spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. In the 2024-25 season, he served as the team’s defensive coordinator, helping Sacramento achieve its best defensive performance in two decades. In his first two seasons, he worked with the offense, playing a key role in the Kings setting an NBA single-season record for offensive efficiency in 2022-23 with a rating of 119.4—surpassing the previous record by a full point.
During his first season with Sacramento, the team finished with a 48-34 record, its highest win total since 2004-05, and secured a Playoff berth for the first time since 2005-06. The following season, he contributed to the Kings’ 46-win campaign, marking the franchise’s best two-year stretch since the mid-2000s. Loucks also gained international coaching experience with the Nigerian National Team, leading Nigeria to a historic exhibition win over Team USA before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the team topped all nations with an average of 11.0 steals per game.
As a player at Florida State, Loucks helped the Seminoles reach the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons—the first time in program history the team made four consecutive appearances. In 2012, he was named to the All-ACC Tournament Team after guiding FSU to its first-ever ACC Tournament championship. In the title game against top-seeded North Carolina, he recorded 13 assists, tying the program record for the most in a single game against an ACC opponent. Loucks ranks fourth in FSU history with 136 career games played and is 10th in program history with 391 career assists. After college, he played professionally for three seasons in Europe and one year in the NBA Development League.
Loucks earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Florida State in 2011 and went on to complete a master’s degree in sport management from FSU in 2012. He is married to the former Stevi Steinhauer, who was a member of FSU’s swimming team from 2006 to 2010, competing in freestyle, butterfly, and relay events. The couple has three children. Loucks also has deep family ties to Florida State—his sister, Emma, played for the Seminoles’ women’s basketball team during her freshman year, and their father, Lincoln, is also an FSU alum.
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