What do Dean Smith, Frank McGuire, Doug Moe, Gregg Popovich, Michael Jordon, David Robinson, David Thompson, Rick Barry, Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, Danny Manning, and Chauncey Billips all have in common? They either hired, coached, were coached by and/or were teammates with renowned basketball legend, Larry Brown.
Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, Brown is the only coach to win championships in the NCAA (Kansas Jayhawks in 1988) and the NBA (Detroit Pistons in 2004). In addition to Kansas, he also coached at UCLA (1979-81), SMU (2012-2016), and the University of Memphis (2021-22). His pro coaching pedigree includes 10 teams: the American Basketball Association’s (ABA) Carolina Cougars (1972-74) and the ABA/NBA’s Denver Nuggets (1974-79), New Jersey Nets (1981-83), San Antonio Spurs (1988-92), Los Angeles Clippers (1992-93), Indiana Pacers (1993-1997), Philadelphia 76ers (1997-2003), Pistons (2003-05), Knicks (2005-06) and Charlotte Bobcats (2008-10). Always up for a challenge and chance to learn something new, at 78 Brown was named coach of the 2018-19 Fiat Turin Series A men’s basketball team in Italy.
Prior to his more than 40 years of college and professional coaching experience, Brown was the starting point guard on the U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic games. He also coached the U.S. men’s basketball team to a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. From 1960-63, his college team was the heralded University of North Carolina, where he learned from well-respected coaches Frank McGuire and Dean Smith. His first coaching job was after college as an assistant coach at North Carolina. He had a five-year stint playing in the ABA for five different teams, including two seasons with the Denver Rockets. A scrappy, high I.Q. point guard, he was the MVP of the ABA’s first All-Star Game in 1968. A prolific floor general, he once dished out a league-record 23 assists in one game. He finished his playing career as the ABA’s all-time leader in assists.
Brown was named the ABA coach of the Year three times (1973, 1975 and 1976) and earned the NBA Coach of the Year honor in 2001. He ranks ninth all-time in NBA coaching with 1,098 victories. During Brown’s five-year as a coach of the Nuggets (two ABA and three years NBA), they had a regular season record of 251-134, a 65.2 winning percentage. Overall, Brown recorded 1,275 wins coaching in the pros (regular season) and 262 wins in college.
In 1974, Carl Sheer, president and part-owner of the Denver Nuggets hired former Denver Rockets guard to coach the Nuggets. Brown brought with him his North Carolina Tar Heel roommate, teammate and longtime friend, Doug Moe. Brown and Moe along with Sheer reinvented the Nuggets and changed the course of the franchise. In an interview with Mile High Sports, Nuggets legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dan Issel said: “Larry Brown was the best basketball teacher I ever played for.”
By Mary Kay Mauro, ESPN/NFHS
