Du started his coaching career as an assistant to Li Chunjiang at Guangdong in the 2012-13 CBA season, but moved into the head coaching spot on an interim basis when Li resigned in January, after nearly 13 years leading the Southern Tigers.[3] The team went on to win their record-tying eighth title in the 2013 CBA Finals with Du being named head coach on a permanent basis as a result of that success. Guangdong did not return to the championship round again until the 2017 CBA Finals when they lost to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.[4]
National team
In April 2017, it was revealed that Du was appointed as the head coach of one of the two Chinese national basketball teams formed by the Chinese Basketball Association, in preparation for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics.[4] Du was assigned to coach the China Blue team while Li Nan would mentor the China Red team.[5] In September 2018, Li Nan was announced as the head coach of China's reunified national team, while Du would return to his previous job with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.[citation needed]