Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Countdown to Craziness on October 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.
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7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
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Men's Basketball
James, Nate
Nate James
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- lahoward@duke.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 613-7500
Follow @RealNateJames
Former Duke standout Nate James has served on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff since returning to the program prior to the 2007-08 season. James’ role at Duke has increased from Strength and Conditioning Coach to Special Assistant to Assistant Coach to his most recent promotion as Associate Head Coach following the 2017-18 campaign.
The Washington, D.C., native has had a hand in three of Duke’s five national championships, one as a player in 2001 and as an assistant coach in 2010 and 2015. His three NCAA titles are more than anyone in Duke history aside from Coach K.
In nine total seasons as an assistant under Coach K, James has helped the Blue Devils to a 240-58 (.810) record with five ACC Tournament championships. Duke has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament four times in James’ nine seasons as an assistant coach.
Duke has averaged 29.8 wins per season since James joined the staff prior to the 2007-08 campaign. The Blue Devils have also produced 26 NBA Draft picks, including 22 first-round selections and 14 lottery picks, during that time. From 2009-11, James helped lead Duke to three consecutive ACC Tournament championships, winning at least 30 games in each of those seasons.
James has aided in the development of some of the nation’s best players with a decorated list of former Blue Devils that includes the likes of Harry Giles, Jabari Parker, Mason and Miles Plumlee, Jahlil Okafor, Brandon Ingram, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Zion Williamson, Vernon Carey Jr. and Cassius Stanley.
Giles, Parker, Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee, Okafor, Ingram, Bagley, Carter and Williamson were all first-round picks following their time under James’ tutelage, including Williamson as the program’s fourth overall No. 1 selection. Mason Plumlee (2014), Okafor (2016), Bagley (2019) and Williamson (2020) were each named first-team NBA All-Rookie selections, while Ingram was selected the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2020.
Now in three consecutive seasons, James has helped coach players to be named either ACC Player of the Year or Rookie of the Year in Bagley (2018), Williamson (2019), Tre Jones and Carey (2020). Bagley became just the third player in ACC history to lead the conference in scoring (21.0), rebounding (11.1) and field goal percentage (.614), while Williamson was the consensus National Player of the Year and became the first freshman in ACC history to be named both Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP in the same season. Carey joined Bagley and Williamson as a National Freshman of the Year selection, was the ACC Freshman of the Year, a consensus second-team All-American and led the league in field goal percentage (.577), was third in scoring (17.8) and fourth in rebounding (8.8). Jones became the ACC’s first player named ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
James played in 135 games, making 63 starts, for Duke from 1997-01. The two-time team captain scored 1,116 points, made 111 three-point field goals and grabbed 500 rebounds while shooting .473 from the floor for his career. The Blue Devils won outright or shared the regular-season ACC championship in each of the five years that James was on the roster, a feat achieved by no other player in league history.
As a senior, James was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and garnered third-team All-ACC recognition from the league’s media.
One of James’ most significant contributions to Duke’s 2001 NCAA crown was the way he handled his move out of the starting lineup late in the season. Coming off the bench in a reworked lineup following an injury to Carlos Boozer, James averaged more than 24 minutes per game in the Blue Devils’ nine postseason victories.
With 117 career victories in a Duke uniform, James is tied for seventh in program history and 11th in ACC history with Quinn Cook, Andre Dawkins and Danny Ferry. Duke posted a winning percentage of .867 (117-18) with James on the court, a mark that still ranks seventh in school history.
James was part of nine major championships while playing at Duke: one NCAA title, three ACC Tournament championships and five regular-season ACC championships. He is one of 67 players in Duke history to break the 1,000-point barrier and his 1,116 points currently rank 55th on the program’s career chart.
Following his collegiate career, James played professionally in the United States and overseas from 2002-07. After being named the Carolinas Basketball League MVP in 2003, James played in Bosnia, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, Poland and Russia over the next five years. He also participated in training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004. While playing in Hungary, he teamed with former Blue Devil Casey Sanders to claim a league championship.
In the offseason, James directed a summer basketball camp in Durham for 12 years. The camp, which he started with Chris Carrawell, teaches the importance of fundamentals in the game of basketball and life.
In high school, James was a 1996 McDonald’s All-American and won the McDonald’s All-American Game Three-Point Contest. He was also selected as the McDonald’s All-American Sportsmanship Award winner.
James graduated from Duke in 2001 with a degree in sociology and a minor in African-American studies. He and his wife, actress Bobbi Baker James, have two sons, Nathanial Drake James III and Michael Dash James.
(updated 11/16/2020)
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