Greg Magado Minor (born September 18, 1971) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and a former

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 ...

player who spent five seasons with the Boston Celtics. Born in

Sandersville, Georgia The city of Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,912 at the 2010 census. It is also a part of the Central Savannah River Area. Sandersville is known as the "Kaolin Capital of the World ...

he played basketball for Washington County High School before enrolling at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

to play for the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. He has been an assistant coach with the NBA Development League's

Tulsa 66ers Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

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 pop ...

, 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 ...

College career

Minor lost his freshman season in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

due to academic reasons. In his time in Louisville the school snapped two Metro Conference titles and two trips to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen. In three seasons he averaged 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Cardinals.

Professional career

Minor was selected by the

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

as the 25th overall pick in the

1994 NBA Draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...

. On June 30, 1994, the Clippers then traded Minor along with veteran Mark Jackson to the Indiana Pacers for

Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Sealy played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

Pooh Richardson Jerome "Pooh" Richardson Jr. (born May 14, 1966) is an American former basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, th ...

, and the rights to fellow rookie

Eric Piatkowski Eric Todd Piatkowski (; born September 30, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He is the son of former ABA player Wa ...

. He was released from the Pacers' roster before start of the 1994–95 NBA season, but signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics on October 19. Minor remained with the Celtics for the entirety of his five-year career (1994–1999), averaging 6.9 points per game and maintaining a shooting percentage of .478. During his rookie season, he scored a career-high 31 points in a home game against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 1995. In 1996, Minor competed in the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

during the All-Star Weekend in San Antonio, Texas, where he finished third overall. Minor suffered from a career ending hip injury on April 29, 1999 during a game against 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 Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. In 2001 Minor attempted a comeback and was rumoured to have been close to signing with the Sydney Kings of the

Australian National Basketball League The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men's basketball league in Australia and New Ze ...

Coaching career

Minor became the assistant coach of the Continental Basketball Association's

Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

in 2008. He worked with NBA legends

Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games. A guard who attended Wint ...

, the general manager of the team, and

Micheal Ray Richardson Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in ...

, the head coach. The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry won the CBA Championship that year. On September 25, 2008, the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

added Minor as a member of the basketball operations staff for the NBA Development League affiliate the

. Minor was the assistant coach to Paul Woolpert. On October 6, 2009, the NBA Development League's

announced that Minor would serve as an assistant coach for the 2009–10 season. On August 11, 2010, the NBA Development League's

announced that Minor was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Randy Livingston. During the 2011-2012 basketball season, Minor became the head coach of Jiangsu Xiongshi Professional Basketball Club in the National Basketball League of China. In September 2012, the Cleveland Cavaliers added Minor as an assistant coach to G League affiliates Canton Charge. From 2014-2016 basketball seasons, Minor served as the head coach of the Jiangsu Xiongshi Professional Basketball Club in the National Basketball League of China.

Personal

In 2006, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Phoenix. In 2007, Minor traveled to Iraq with

Thurl Bailey Thurl is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Thurl Bailey (born 1961), American basketball player * Thurl Ravenscroft Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (; February 6, 1914May 22, 2005) was an American actor and bass singer. He was kn ...

and

Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

to meet with the troops.https://www.nbrpa.com/news/editorial/Suiting_Up_With_the_Troops.aspx Minor also worked with the NBA at the Haier Academy in China in 2007 and 2009.

References

External links

One on One - Greg Minor
at nrbpa.com

at NBA.com

at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, Greg 1971 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Boston Celtics players Canton Charge coaches Continental Basketball Association coaches Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Sandersville, Georgia Shooting guards Small forwards University of Phoenix alumni