Kansas Basketball Assistant Chase Buford Leaves for NBA Job

Bill Self recently lost one of his top assistants on the Kansas Jayhawks coaching staff. The Hall of Fame coach confirmed the news on Friday during a media appearance.

According to Self, Chase Buford, a former Kansas walk-on guard who won the national championship in 2008, has accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets and will no longer be coaching at KU.

“Chase just got hired by the Nuggets…You know, he got an assistant coach’s job, which is great for him and happy for him. He did a really good job here,” Self told the media. “I’m in the process of looking into some different things, but I haven’t done anything yet. I feel like I have the scope kind of narrowed down of what I think would be good for us, but I haven’t done anything yet.”

Self confirms that Chase Buford is no longer on staff. Says he got an assistant coaching gig with the Denver Nuggets and that he's in the process of filling that spot and has some ideas on what he wants to do there. #KUbball
— Matt Tait (@mctait) August 15, 2025

Buford, who coached at Kansas for just one year as an assistant, was previously a regional scout with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA.

He also spent time working with several G League teams before moving into head coaching roles. Buford led the Wisconsin Herd in the G League and later coached the Sydney Kings in the NBL from 2021-2023.

Following his stint in Australia, he took a job at his alma mater in June 2024, returning to Lawrence to coach alongside Self.

Now, after only one season back at Kansas, he is heading to Denver to join David Adelman’s staff.

The Nuggets roster also features former Jayhawk champion Christian Braun, who won a national title with the Jayhawks in 2022 and played a key role on that team. He and Buford will likely develop a strong relationship once he officially assumes his position.

This departure is considered a significant loss for the Jayhawks. Buford was viewed as one of the most impactful voices on the sidelines and brought professional experience to the bench.

His father, R.C. Buford, served as an assistant coach under Larry Brown when Kansas won the 1988 national championship with Danny Manning.

KU has already undergone a series of changes this offseason. Norm Roberts announced his retirement earlier in the summer, leading Self to bring in former star point guard and NBA head coach Jacque Vaughn to the program.

With Buford gone, Self will now look for another assistant to round out his staff. The staff currently includes assistants Vaughn, Kurtis Townsend, Jeremy Case, and Joe Dooley.