Bryan Gates is an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. Before joining the Suns, Gates was an assistant coach for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, and the New Orleans Pelicans. Outside of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, Gates was the head coach of the Beirut Blue Stars,

Oklahoma Storm The Oklahoma Storm was a United States Basketball League (USBL) team in Enid, Oklahoma. Founded by sports agent and attorney James Sears Bryant, the Storm successfully captured the USBL championship under head coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2002, de ...

, and

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, and while with the Stampede twice won the NBA G League Coach of the Year Award.

Early life and education

Gates spent his childhood in Anchorage, Alaska as a

ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...

during the

Great Alaska Shootout The ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout is an annual women's college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features host University of Alaska Anchorage and three visiting NCAA Div. I teams. The four-team tournament is resuming ...

tournaments. After completing his post-secondary education at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

, he declined a job in technology to work in basketball.

Career

Late 1990s to early 2000s

In 1997, Gates began his career as an intern with the

in basketball operations. While part of the Continental Basketball Association team, Gates continued his intern position when he became an

account executive Account executive is a role in sales, advertising, marketing, and finance involving intimate understanding of a client company's objectives and products and a professional capability to provide effective advice toward creation of successful promot ...

that year. He later became an assistant coach with Idaho at the end of 1997. As a member of the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and A ...

in 1998, Gates joined the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball As ...

in assistant positions as a general manager and coach. In 1999, Gates became a director of player personnel for the Stampede. While in his director position until 2001, Gates continued his assistant coaching experience with Idaho to 2003. When the

held their first ever game in 2000, Gates was one of their head coaches for the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

team alongside Denny Price. In the USBL, Gates and the Storm were defeated by Dodge City during the league's championship game in 2000. After Price died in 2000, Gates became the sole coach of the Storm for the following season. With the Storm in 2001, Gates and his team reached the postseason's first round. During this time period, Gates coached the Global Sports basketball team in

exhibition games An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

while with the Storm. In 2003, Gates coached the Hickory Nutz as part of the Carolinas Basketball League. That season, Gates was the CBL Coach of the Year and won the league championship with the Nutz.

Mid 2000s

When the Florence Flyers became an USBL team, Gates was chosen as their head coach in February 2004. With the Flyers, Gates also worked as their general manager before becoming a temporary owner of the team. Gates was released from his coaching position in May 2004. With the Flyers, Gates had 9 wins and 20 losses. In 2005, Gates resumed his tenure with the Storm when he became their head coach and general manager. The following year, Gates continued to work with the Storm as their head coach. Gates was selected as the Coach of the Year for the USBL in 2006. As a USBL coach with the Storm between 2000 to 2006, Gates had 74 wins and 46 losses. For the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

, Gates became an assistant coach for the Austin Toros in 2005. The following year, he became head coach of the Idaho Stampede in 2006 and led his team to win the 2007-08 D League Championship. In 2008, Gates was chosen as one of the coaches for the

NBA Development League All-Star Game The NBA D-League All-Star Game was an annual exhibition basketball game held by the NBA Development League (D-League). The D-League was founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and later as the NBA Development League. ...

. After leaving the Stampede in 2009, Gates had 100 wins and 50 losses as a D-League coach. In 2009, Gates went to the

and became an assistant coach for multiple teams. He started with the

in 2009. He then worked with the New Orleans Pelicans from 2010 to 2015 and the

from 2015 to 2016. In 2016, Gates returned to the Sacramento Kings until he rejoined the Timberwolves in 2019. Gates continued his assistant coaching career with the Phoenix Suns in 2021. Outside of the United States, Gates coached the Beirut Blue Stars of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

from 2004 to 2005. He was also an assistant coach for the

Canada men's national basketball team The Canadian men's national basketball team represents Canada in international basketball competitions since 1923. They are overseen by Canada Basketball, the governing body of basketball in Canada. The team's head coach is Nick Nurse and its ge ...

that played at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

Awards

Gates was twice named the NBA G League Coach of the Year with the Stampede, in 2007 and 2008.

Personal life

Gates is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Bryan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball coaches Austin Toros coaches Basketball coaches from Alaska Boise State University alumni Idaho Stampede coaches Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches New Orleans Pelicans assistant coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska United States Basketball League coaches