Brian Robert Lynch (born June 12, 1978) is an American retired professional basketball player and current coach.
Early life
Lynch was born in
Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was down from 19,306 in 2000 but still up from 18,177 in 1990.
The Borough is a Jersey Shore community situ ...
to Mary and Richard Lynch, a retired
Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,794, Lynch is of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descent. He grew up in
Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,794,Christian Brothers Academy. He played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
at
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...
After graduating from Villanova in 2000, Lynch went to Europe to play professionally. There, he spent his first few years as a journeyman playing for numerous teams in different European countries before settling in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in 2004. He last played forward for the
Antwerp Diamond Giants
Antwerp Giants, named Telenet Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, are a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketball.
The clu ...
of Belgium's
Pro Basketball League
The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for sports clubs, clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League.
Through 2014, for sponsorship reasons, the league ...
from 2008 to 2009.
In February 2013, it was reported that Lynch would become the assistant coach of the Antwerp Giants for the next season. In 2014, he signed a 5-year contract with newly formed PBL club
Limburg United
Limburg United, for sponsorship reasons named Hubo Limburg United, is a professional basketball club based in Hasselt, Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Belgium.
Founded in 2014, the club plays in the BNXT League, the first tier of basketball in Belgiu ...
. On June 6, 2017, Lynch was announced as the head coach for Spirou Charleroi for the 2017–18 PBL season. On November 25, 2018, Lynch was sacked by Spirou.
During the 2018–19 season, Lynch returned to Limburg.
Personal life
Lynch is married to Belgian tennis player
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...
. They were married in a private low-key ceremony on July 13, 2007 at the Bree city hall by the mayor, with only their parents and siblings present. On February 27, 2008, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Jada. On February 25, 2013, Clijsters announced on her
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account that they were expecting a second child. On 18 September 2013, Clijsters gave birth to their second child, a son, Jack Leon Lynch. In October 2016, she gave birth to their third child, a son, Blake Richard Lynch.
The family divides their time spending autumn in Belgium and summers at their home in
Wall Township, New Jersey
Wall Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area and is a bedroom community of New York. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 26,164, refl ...
NJ.com
NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...
, September 10, 2010. Accessed October 20, 2015. "They spend their Summers in New Jersey in between tournament stops at a house they own in Wall. They spend their Autumns in Belgium, where Jada will most likely attend school."