David Sean Fizdale (born June 16, 1974) is an American professional
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 ...
manager. He is currently the assistant general manager for the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
. He previously was 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 ...
, the head coach for the
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 ...
and
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
, and was an assistant coach for 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 ...
,
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
and the
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
. He won two championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013.
Career
Born in Los Angeles, Fizdale attended
Fremont High School in Los Angeles, where he played as a
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
for the school's basketball team. He subsequently attended college at the
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...
, where he graduated with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in communications and a minor in sociology.
Between 2003 and 2016, Fizdale was an
assistant coach
A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete.
History
The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...
for the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
,
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 ...
, and
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
. During his tenure with the Heat, Fizdale coached "Team Shaq", a squad selected by
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...
, at the
2013 Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA All-Star Weekend. His team was defeated 163–135, by
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...
's "Team Chuck", coached by then
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
' assistant coach
Mike Budenholzer
Michael Vincent Budenholzer (born August 6, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the Bucks, he spent five seasons as head coac ...
. After the reshuffle of the Heat's coaching staff, Fizdale became an associate head coach after
Ron Rothstein
Ronald L. Rothstein (born December 27, 1942) is an American former professional basketball coach and college basketball player, who has led many different National Basketball Association, NBA teams. He served as the first head coach for the Miam ...
decided to retire from his coaching career and
Bob McAdoo
Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. ( ; born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Most ...
was assigned to the scouting staff.
On May 29, 2016, Fizdale was named as the head coach of the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
. He led the Grizzlies to a 43–39 record in the
2016–17 season, reaching the Western Conference playoffs. After a 7–12 start to the
2017–18 season, including eight consecutive losses, and a publicized fourth-quarter benching of
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol Sáez (, ; born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-Star. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of ...
, Fizdale was fired from the team on November 27, 2017.
On May 7, 2018, Fizdale was named as the head coach of the
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 ...
signing a four-year deal with the organization. On December 6, 2019, he was fired by the Knicks after a 4–18 start to their season.
In September 2021, Fizdale was hired as an assistant coach of 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 ...
under
Frank Vogel
Frank Paul Vogel (born June 21, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach. He previously served as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Vogel also pr ...
.
On June 28, 2022, Fizdale was hired as the associate general manager for the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
.
Head coaching record
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, style="text-align:left;",
, 82, , 43, , 39, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, , 6, , 2, , 4, , , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in
First Round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, style="text-align:left;",
, 19, , 7, , 12, , , , style="text-align:center;", (fired), , —, , —, , —, , —, , style="text-align:center;", —
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, style="text-align:left;",
, 82, , 17, , 65, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, , —, , —, , —, , —, , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, style="text-align:left;",
, 22, , 4, , 18, , , , style="text-align:center;", (fired), , —, , —, , —, , —, , style="text-align:center;", —
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 205, , 71, , 134, , , , , , 6, , 2, , 4, , , ,
Personal life
Fizdale is married to marketer Natasha Sen and has one son from a prior relationship.
Natasha's birth father is Roy Singer and he lives in Australia. Natasha was born in Delhi India and her mother is Samira Sen and she lives in Canada.
References
External links
NBA.com: David Fizdale coach profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fizdale, David
Living people
1974 births
African-American basketball coaches
African-American basketball players
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches
Basketball coaches from California
Basketball players from Los Angeles
Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches
Golden State Warriors assistant coaches
Memphis Grizzlies head coaches
Miami Heat assistant coaches
New York Knicks head coaches
San Diego Toreros men's basketball coaches
San Diego Toreros men's basketball players
Point guards
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople