Bernie Bickerstaff

Bernie Bickerstaff
Personal information
Bickerstaff visits the White House with the Chicago Bulls in February 2009, before the Bulls' game against the Washington Wizards.
Born	(1944-02-11) February 11, 1944 Benham, Kentucky
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	East Benham (Benham, Kentucky)
College	Rio Grande CC (1961–1962) San Diego (1964–1966)
Coaching career	1968–2014
Career history
As coach:
1968–1969	San Diego (assistant)
1969–1973	San Diego
1973–1985	Washington Bullets (assistant)
1985–1990	Seattle SuperSonics
1994–1996	Denver Nuggets
1996–1999	Washington Bullets/Wizards
2004–2007	Charlotte Bobcats
2008–2010	Chicago Bulls (assistant)
2010–2012	Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
2012–2013	Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
2012	Los Angeles Lakers (interim)
2013–2014	Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As assistant coach NBA champion (1978)

Bernard Tyrone "Bernie" Bickerstaff (born February 11, 1944) is an American basketball coach. He previously worked as the head coach for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, and Los Angeles Lakers. He has also been an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers,^[1] Chicago Bulls,^[2] Los Angeles Lakers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He has served in numerous other NBA front office positions, and has been a consultant for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Early years

He was born in Benham, Kentucky, where his father and grandfather worked in the coal mines. He often had to endure open racism. He attended East Benham High School, where he was the starting point guard of the basketball team.

After graduating in 1961, he moved to Cleveland where he had relatives, with the idea of joining the Army, but he instead accepted a basketball scholarship to play for Rio Grande College. The racial tension he experienced during his time playing there made him leave school early and head back to Cleveland to work in a steel mill. However, the difficult working conditions prompted him to accept a second opportunity to play college basketball at the University of San Diego from 1964 to 1966. As a senior he was named team captain and MVP, when the Toreros finished 17-11 and went on to play at the Small College Regional Playoffs. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. His wife, Mrs. Bickerstaffe, is a 4th grade teacher in Wykoff, New Jersey.

Professional career

After finishing his college eligibility, he was hired by his coach Phil Woolpert to serve as an assistant for the 1968–69 season. After three seasons at 25 years old, he was named the head coach of the University of San Diego after Woolpert's abrupt resignation, keeping this position for the next four years. In 1972–1973 his team finished 19–9 and his four-year overall record was 54–49.

In 1973, Bickerstaff was hired as an assistant for the Washington Bullets by then coach K. C. Jones and was a part of the 1978 Bullets NBA Championship. He left the team after 12 seasons, when Lenny Wilkens hired him for the head coaching position with the Seattle SuperSonics (1985–1990), reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1987.

Bickerstaff was the Denver Nuggets' president and general manager from 1990 to 1997, also coaching the team from 1994 to 1996.

In 1997, Wes Unseld hired him to coach the Bullets, making the playoffs for the first time since 1988 and becoming the league's all-time 34th-winningest coach. After parting ways with the team in 1999, he had a two-year stint with the International Basketball League's Saint Louis Swarm.

In 2003, he was hired by Ed Tapscott to become the expansion Charlotte Bobcats' first head coach and general manager.

Bickerstaff was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012–13 as an assistant coach to Mike Brown.^[3] On November 9, 2012, Bickerstaff was named interim head coach of the Lakers after Brown was fired.^[4] Three days later, the Lakers signed former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni as their official head coach, although D'Antoni's on-court debut was delayed as he recovered from knee-replacement surgery. Bickerstaff continued to coach the Lakers in D'Antoni's absence,^[5] ending his stint with a 4–1 record, the highest winning percentage in Lakers' history, albeit in only five games. He continued with the team as an assistant coach,^[6] but was fired after the season.^[7]

In the summer of 2013, Bickerstaff became an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[8]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss %
Post season	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win-loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Seattle	1985–86	82	31	51	.378	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Seattle	1986–87	82	39	43	.476	4th in Pacific	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Conf. Finals
Seattle	1987–88	82	44	38	.537	3rd in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
Seattle	1988–89	82	47	35	.573	3rd in Pacific	8	3	5	.375	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Seattle	1989–90	82	41	41	.500	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Denver	1994–95	32	20	12	.625	4th in Midwest	3	0	3	.000	Lost in First Round
Denver	1995–96	82	35	47	.427	4th in Midwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Denver	1996–97	13	4	9	.308	(fired)	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Washington	1996–97	35	22	13	.628	4th in Atlantic	3	0	3	.000	Lost in First Round
Washington	1997–98	82	42	40	.512	4th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Washington	1998–99	50	18	32	.360	6th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Charlotte	2004–05	82	18	64	.220	4th in Southeast	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Charlotte	2005–06	82	26	56	.317	4th in Southeast	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Charlotte	2006–07	82	33	49	.402	4th in Southeast	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
L.A. Lakers	2012–13	5	4	1	.800	(interim)	—	—	—	—	—
Career		937	419	518	.447		33	12	21	.364

Awards and accolades

In 1987, he received the Horace Mann Award for Leadership and was also named the 1987 Sports Person of the Year, presented by the New York Pro-Am Basketball Association.
In 1995, he was inducted into the University of San Diego's Hall of Fame.
Inducted into the West Coast Conference's inaugural Hall of Honor.
In 2010, he was inducted into the John McClendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame.
In 2011, he was named a Kappa Legend and Icon in Sports.
In 2012, he was inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.
His hometown of Benham, Kentucky, named a street – Bernard Bickerstaff Boulevard – in his honor.
In 2014, he was awarded the NBA's Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal

Bickerstaff also worked as a TV and radio analyst with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, NBA.com and the Sporting News Radio.

Bernie's son, J. B. Bickerstaff, is an associate head coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.

References

↑ Quick, Jason (July 22, 2010). "Trail Blazers legend Buck Williams will be named to Nate McMillan's staff". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
↑ K.C. Johnson (2008-07-01). "Bulls Hire 2 Assistant Coaches". Chicago Tribune.
↑ Trudell, Mike (September 7, 2012). "LAL Assistant Coach Roles". lakers.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012.
↑ "Mike Brown Fired As Lakers Coach". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
↑ Bresnahan, Mike (November 18, 2012). "Mike D'Antoni to miss game because of energy, safety concerns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
↑ Ahmed, Shahan (November 20, 2012). "Bernie Bickerstaff Made History As Interim Lakers Coach". nbclosangeles.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012.
↑ "Mike D'Antoni Fired Assistant Coaches Bernie Bickerstaff and Chuck Person". SlamOnline.com. May 7, 2013. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013.
↑ Bernie Bickerstaff completes Mike Brown's staff: Cleveland Cavaliers Insider

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bernie Bickerstaff.

San Diego Toreros men's basketball head coaches

Fon Johnson (1955–1957) Bob McCutcheon (1957–1958) Les Harvey (1958–1960) Ken Leslie (1960–1961) Ed Baron (1961–1962) Phil Woolpert (1962–1969) Bernie Bickerstaff (1969–1973) Jim Brovelli (1973–1984) Hank Egan (1984–1994) Brad Holland (1994–2007) Bill Grier (2007–2015) Lamont Smith (2015– )

Oklahoma City Thunder head coaches

Al Bianchi (1967–1969)
Lenny Wilkens (1969–1972)
Tom Nissalke (1972–1973)
Bucky Buckwalter # (1973)
Bill Russell (1973–1977)
Bob Hopkins (1977)
Lenny Wilkens (1977–1985)
Bernie Bickerstaff (1985–1990)
K. C. Jones (1990–1992)
Bob Kloppenburg # (1992)
George Karl (1992–1998)
Paul Westphal (1998–2000)
Nate McMillan (2000–2005)
Bob Weiss (2005–2006)
Bob Hill (2006–2007)
P. J. Carlesimo (2007–2008)
Scott Brooks (2008–2015)
Billy Donovan (2015– )

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Denver Nuggets head coaches

Bob Bass (1967–1969)
John McLendon (1969)
Joe Belmont (1969–1970)
Stan Albeck (1970–1971)
Alex Hannum (1971–1974)
Larry Brown (1974–1979)
Donnie Walsh (1979–1980)
Doug Moe (1980–1990)
Paul Westhead (1990–1992)
Dan Issel (1992–1995)
Gene Littles # (1995)
Bernie Bickerstaff (1995–1996)
Dick Motta (1996–1997)
Bill Hanzlik (1997–1998)
Mike D'Antoni (1998–1999)
Dan Issel (1999–2001)
Mike Evans # (2001–2002)
Jeff Bzdelik (2002–2004)
Michael Cooper # (2004–2005)
George Karl (2004–2013)
Brian Shaw (2013–2015)
Melvin Hunt # (2015)
Michael Malone (2015– )

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Washington Wizards head coaches

Jim Pollard (1961–1962)
Jack McMahon (1962)
Bobby Leonard (1962–1964)
Buddy Jeannette (1964–1965)
Paul Seymour (1965–1966)
Mike Farmer (1966)
Buddy Jeannette # (1966)
Gene Shue (1966–1973)
K. C. Jones (1973–1976)
Dick Motta (1976–1980)
Gene Shue (1980–1986)
Kevin Loughery (1986–1988)
Wes Unseld (1988–1994)
Jim Lynam (1994–1997)
Bob Staak # (1997)
Bernie Bickerstaff (1997–1999)
Jim Brovelli # (1999)
Gar Heard (1999–2000)
Darrell Walker # (2000)
Leonard Hamilton (2000–2001)
Doug Collins (2001–2003)
Eddie Jordan (2003–2008)
Ed Tapscott (2008–2009)
Flip Saunders (2009–2012)
Randy Wittman (2012–2016)
Scott Brooks (2016–)

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Charlotte Hornets head coaches

Dick Harter (1988–1990) Gene Littles (1990–1991) Allan Bristow (1991–1996) Dave Cowens (1996–1998) Paul Silas (1998–2002) Bernie Bickerstaff (2004–2007) Sam Vincent (2007–2008) Larry Brown (2008–2010) Paul Silas (2010–2012) Mike Dunlap (2012–2013) Steve Clifford (2013– )

Los Angeles Lakers head coaches

John Kundla (1948–1958)
George Mikan (1958)
John Kundla (1958–1959)
John Castellani (1959–1960)
Jim Pollard (1960)
Fred Schaus (1960–1967)
Butch van Breda Kolff (1967–1969)
Joe Mullaney (1969–1971)
Bill Sharman (1971–1976)
Jerry West (1976–1979)
Jack McKinney (1979)
Paul Westhead (1979–1981)
Pat Riley (1981–1990)
Mike Dunleavy Sr. (1990–1992)
Randy Pfund (1992–1994)
Bill Bertka # (1994)
Magic Johnson # (1994)
Del Harris (1994–1999)
Bill Bertka # (1999)
Kurt Rambis # (1999)
Phil Jackson (1999–2004)
Rudy Tomjanovich (2004–2005)
Frank Hamblen # (2005)
Phil Jackson (2005–2011)
Mike Brown (2011–2012)
Bernie Bickerstaff # (2012)
Mike D'Antoni (2012–2014)
Byron Scott (2014–2016)
Luke Walton (2016–present)

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Washington Bullets 1977–78 NBA Champions

10 Bob Dandridge 11 Elvin Hayes 14 Tom Henderson 15 Charles Johnson 20 Phil Walker 25 Mitch Kupchak 32 Larry Wright 35 Kevin Grevey 41 Wes Unseld (Finals MVP) 42 Greg Ballard 44 Joe Pace 45 Phil Chenier Head coach Dick Motta Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff

Regular season Playoffs

Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award

2009: Tom Heinsohn 2010: Jack Ramsay and Tex Winter 2011: Lenny Wilkens 2012: Pat Riley 2013: Bill Fitch 2014: Bernie Bickerstaff 2015: Dick Motta 2016: K. C. Jones and Jerry Sloan

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