Gregory Derayle Buckner (born September 16, 1976) is an American former 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 ...

player who is the associate head coach for 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 ...

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 had previously served as an assistant coach for 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 ...

. Selected in the second round (53rd pick overall) of the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

after playing college basketball at Clemson, he played for the Mavericks,

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 ...

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

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 ...

and Grizzlies. Buckner's first professional experience came with the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), where he averaged 8.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the 1998–99 season.

Playing career

College career

During his time with the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

, he started all 122 games of his career while guiding the team to three NCAA tournaments. Buckner led the team in scoring all four years becoming the first Clemson Tiger to do so. In 1995, Buckner was named ACC Rookie of the Year. He was entered into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Professional career

After playing with the

from 1999 to 2002, Buckner signed with the

as a free agent. Then he signed with the Denver Nuggets. In 2006, he re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks, but after one season, he was traded to the Timberwolves for

Trenton Hassell Trenton Lavar Hassell (born March 4, 1979) is an American former professional basketball forward. A , guard-forward, Hassell was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 30th overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft. Early life and college career Hasse ...

on September 28, 2007. On June 27, 2008, the Timberwolves traded him to the

with

O. J. Mayo Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who plays for Zamalek SC of the Egyptian Basketball Super League (EBSL). He played a single season of college basketball for the USC Trojans while earnin ...

Marko Jarić Marko Jarić ( sr-cyr, Марко Јарић, ; el, Μάρκο Γιάριτς, Marko Yiarits; born 12 October 1978) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Standing at 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in), he mainly played the shooting guard pos ...

, and

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

for

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Second Team and ...

, Mike Miller,

Brian Cardinal Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 456 games in the NBA between 2000 and 2012, and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Before his NBA career, he was one o ...

, and

Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, where he was ...

. On July 9, 2009, Buckner was traded to the

as a part of the four-team deal among Grizzlies, Mavericks,

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

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Coaching career

On July 29, 2011, he joined 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 ...

as a player development coach, serving for five seasons. Buckner reached the playoffs three times with the team as part of the coaching staff. He would later become an assistant coach with the

, and in November 2020, became an assistant coach with the

. On April 21, 2021, Buckner got his first NBA head coaching victory when he temporarily replaced head coach

J. B. Bickerstaff John-Blair Bickerstaff (born March 10, 1979) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before that, he was the head coach for the Memphis Grizzlie ...

as the Cavaliers won 121–105 against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. On June 13, 2022, the Cavaliers promoted Buckner to associate head coach position.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 48 , , 1 , , 19.2 , , .476 , , .385 , , .683 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 9 , , 22.2 , , .438 , , .286 , , .728 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .2 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 44 , , 16 , , 20.1 , , .525 , , .313 , , .690 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .4 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 75 , , 5 , , 20.2 , , .465 , , .273 , , .802 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 53 , , 3 , , 13.3 , , .377 , , .273 , , .741 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 70 , , 41 , , 21.7 , , .528 , , .405 , , .778 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 27 , , 24.1 , , .434 , , .354 , , .782 , , 2.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 11 , , 18.1 , , .411 , , .311 , , .794 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 31 , , 4 , , 16.8 , , .385 , , .300 , , .864 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 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 ...

, 63 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .384 , , .255 , , .800 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 570 , , 117 , , 19.1 , , .450 , , .334 , , .757 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .478 , , .333 , , .700 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .480 , , .000 , , .750 , , 3.7 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .323 , , .222 , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 2 , , 20.0 , , .222 , , .222 , , , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 4 , , 27.4 , , .418 , , .313 , , .875 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 38 , , 6 , , 15.1 , , .377 , , .259 , , .786 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.1

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckner, Greg 1976 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky Clemson Tigers men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Grand Rapids Hoops players Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies players Minnesota Timberwolves players Philadelphia 76ers players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Hopkinsville, Kentucky Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople