Profile of Larry Brown on Famous Like Me

See also Larry Brown (author); Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown (cornerback); 1970s NFL player Larry Brown (running back).

Larry Brown (born September 14, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family) is currently the head coach of the New York Knicks. He has been a successful college and professional basketball coach for the last 31 years. He has won over 1,000 professional games in the ABA and the NBA and is the only coach in NBA history to lead seven different teams to the playoffs. He is 1,285-853 in his career.

As a player

Brown, a 5'9" point guard, played at The University of North Carolina under the legendary coach Dean Smith, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, after playing high school basketball in New York. A stellar player for the Tar Heels in the early 1960s, Brown was considered too small to play in the NBA and so began his professional career with the NABL's Akron Wingfoots, where he played for two years (1964-65). During that time Brown was selected for the 1964 Summer Olympics team while leading the Wingfoots to the 1964 AAU National Championship. After a brief stint as an assistant coach at North Carolina, Brown joined the upstart American Basketball Association, playing with the New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-68), Oakland Oaks (1968-69), Washington Caps (1969-70), Virginia Squires (1970-71), and Denver Nuggets (1971-72). Larry Brown is the all-time ABA assists leader.

As a coach

Brown first coached in the ABA with the Carolina Cougars and then the Denver Rockets, who became the NBA's Denver Nuggets in 1976, for three and a half seasons from 1975 to 1979. He then moved on to coach for UCLA (1979-80, 1980-81), leading his freshman-dominated 1979-80 team to the NCAA title game before falling to Louisville, 59-54.

After two years with the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Brown began his tenure at the University of Kansas (1983-1988). There he was named "Coach of the Year" for the NCAA in 1988 and "Coach of the Year" for the conference in 1986. Kansas finished first in the conference in 1986, and second in 1984, 1985, and 1987, ultimately leading Kansas to the national championship in 1988, defeating favored conference rival Oklahoma 83-79 in the final. Upon leaving collegiate basketball, Brown had five NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16 appearances, and two trips to the final four. He had a cumulative coaching record of 177-61 (.744) in six seasons, including a 135-44 (.754) record at Kansas.

Brown moved back to the NBA after his time in Kansas, taking the head coaching job with the San Antonio Spurs, and has since led the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, and Philadelphia 76ers. The coach won his first NBA Championship during his first year with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one in the NBA Finals. By doing so, Brown became the first man to coach teams to both NCAA and NBA titles.

Brown was also chosen as the head coach for the USA men's basketball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Recent developments

In May 2005, rumors surfaced that Brown would become the Cleveland Cavaliers' team president as soon as the Detroit Pistons finished their postseason. The Pistons lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games during the 2005 NBA Finals. The rumors of Larry Brown's potential career in Cleveland were dispelled when the Cavaliers publicly announced former NBA player Danny Ferry as their new top executive.

On July 19, 2005, the Pistons, displeased with Brown's public flirtations with other teams, bought out the remaining years of Brown's contract, allowing him to sign with another team. A week later, on July 28, Brown became the head coach of the New York Knicks , with a 5-year contract reportedly worth between $50 million and $60 million, making him the highest-paid coach in NBA history.

External link

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile

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