Christopher Matthew Jent (born January 11, 1970) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 S ...

(NBA). He was formerly the head coach of the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

Early life and college career

Jent was born in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

and grew up in

Sparta, New Jersey Sparta is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 19,600, reflecting a decrease of 122 (−0.6%) from the 2010 United States Census, when the township's population was 19, ...

. After attending high school at

Sparta High School (New Jersey) Sparta High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Sparta, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Sparta Towns ...

, he played college basketball for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

, leaving in 1992 after four seasons.

Professional playing career

Undrafted in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were considere ...

, Jent was drafted in the fourth round (50th overall) in the 1992 CBA draft. Jent began his professional career with CBA teams

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 Ass ...

and

Columbus Horizon The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in Septembe ...

. He had a brief career in the

NBA 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 ...

, playing three games each for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

(winning a championship ring in 1994) and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

(1996–97). He played in 11 playoff games in 1994, thus giving him the rare distinction of having played in more career playoff-games than regular-season games in the NBA. In between his stints with the Rockets and the Knicks, he played with the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n NBL's

North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of ...

in 1995 and also played in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Coaching career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2004)

Jent was an assistant coach for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in the 2003–04 season.

Orlando Magic (2004–2005)

The next season, Jent worked in the same capacity with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, and was appointed interim head coach for the final 18 games of the 2004–05 season (going 5–13), after Johnny Davis was fired. At the start of the next season he was replaced by Brian Hill.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2011)

Beginning in November 2006, Jent took on the role of Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. He served as

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

' personal shooting coach while James was on the team.

Ohio State (2011–2013)

On June 29, 2011,

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

head basketball coach

Thad Matta Thad Michael Matta (born July 11, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team. From 2004 to 2017, Matta led the Ohio State Buckeyes to five Big Ten Conference regular seas ...

introduced Jent as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes.

Sacramento Kings (2013–2014)

On June 10, 2013, Jent became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. He was relieved of his duty on December 16, 2014.

Bakersfield Jam (2015–2016)

Jent would later on be the newest head coach for the

in 2015 after their former head coach ended up accepting an assistant coach/leading player development position for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

Return to Ohio State (2016–2017)

Jent returned to Ohio State as an assistant following the 2015–16 season.

Atlanta Hawks (2017–2022)

For the 2017–18 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Los Angeles Lakers (2022-present)

For the 2022–23 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Head coaching record

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jent, Chris 1970 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Andrea Costa Imola players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Atlantic City Seagulls players Bakersfield Jam coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from California Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Columbus Horizon players Connecticut Pride players Greek Basket League players Houston Rockets players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players New York Knicks players North Melbourne Giants players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball coaches Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic head coaches Pallacanestro Reggiana players Panionios B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Sparta, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Rapid City Thrillers players Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Shooting guards Sportspeople from Orange, California Sportspeople from Sussex County, New Jersey Undrafted National Basketball Association players