John Paul McKinney (July 13, 1935 – September 25, 2018) was an American college and 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 ...

coach. As a head coach in 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) with 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 ...

, he introduced an up-tempo style of play that became known as

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. However, his only season with the Lakers ended prematurely after a bicycle accident. McKinney joined the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, where he was named

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...

in 1981. He also coached the

Kansas City 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 ...

(now known as the Sacramento Kings). In addition, he served as an assistant for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

Early life

McKinney was born in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

, to Paul McKinney, a police detective, and Jen McMahon, a homemaker. He attended St. James High in Chester, where he played basketball under coach

Jack Ramsay John Travilla Ramsay (February 21, 1925 – April 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" (as he held an earned doctorate). He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, a ...

. He graduated in 1953.

College career

McKinney went to college at

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

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 ...

. He played three seasons for the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

, who were also coached by Dr. Jack Ramsay, and led the team to the

Big 5 Big Five may refer to: Animals * the Big Five, large African wild animals said to be most difficult to hunt: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and Cape buffalo * Big Five animals of the Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India: Indian rhinocero ...

's inaugural title and the school's first ever postseason in the

1956 National Invitation Tournament The 1956 National Invitation Tournament was the 1956 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.

(NIT). He was also a member of their

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team.

Coaching career

McKinney coached one season at St. James in 1959–60, leading them to a 17–11 record. After five years at his alma mater St. Joseph's as an assistant under Ramsay, McKinney was the head coach at

Philadelphia Textile Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the unive ...

for one season in 1965–66. He returned to St. Joe's in 1966, replacing the departed Ramsay as head coach. McKinney is a member of the Saint Joseph's and the Big 5 Halls of Fame. He was also named the Eastern Coach of the Year by Philadelphia sportswriters for his 1973–74 season when the Hawks, predicted to have a poor year after graduating

Mike Bantom Michael Allen Bantom (born December 3, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9" power forward/center from Saint Joseph's University, Bantom won a silver medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics as a member of the United States ...

to the NBA and

Pat McFarland Patrick Aloysius McFarland (born December 7, 1951) 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 court, compete with ...

to the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA), had a stellar season again winning their conference and qualifying for postseason play. However, he was fired after a first-round loss in the

1974 NCAA Division I basketball tournament The 1974 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I c ...

, and his dismissal prompted a demonstration by over 500 students. McKinney was an NBA assistant coach with

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, and won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

with the Trail Blazers under Ramsay in 1976–77. Ramsay called McKinney the architect of the offense and his wife Claire said McKinney considered his tenure with the Blazers the highlight of his career. He received his first NBA head coaching job in 1979–80 with the Lakers. Owner

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

, who had recently acquired the team, wanted games to be entertaining, and hired the coach to install a running offense. McKinney had rookie

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

, who some thought should play

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, be 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 ...

, even though incumbent

Norm Nixon Norman Ellard Nixon (born October 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played with Scavo ...

was already one of the best in the league. On November 8, 1979, the Lakers were 9–4 after 13 games, when McKinney suffered a near fatal head injury after falling while bicycling. Assistant coach

Paul Westhead Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American Retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athl ...

, who also worked under McKinney at St. Joseph's, was named the interim head coach. However, the length of the recovery and lingering doubts about the complete return of McKinney's mental faculties, combined with the team's level of success under Westhead, ultimately meant that McKinney would never get the chance to return to the job. Westhead continued to use McKinney's offense, a creative and spontaneous offense that came to be known as

, and the team finished the season with a record of 60–22. The Lakers advanced to that year's

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, when McKinney was fired mid-series on May 13, 1980. The Lakers won the series for their first of five NBA titles in nine seasons, and hired Westhead to permanently replace McKinney.

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

, who replaced Westhead as Lakers coach, won four titles with the team and became the coach most synonymous with the Showtime Lakers. However, Norm Nixon credited McKinney with creating Showtime. "That should never be forgotten," said Nixon. According to Riley, McKinney "might have won five or six titles for the Lakers in the '80s" were it not for his accident. McKinney was deferential. "I just put in some ideas that were accepted, and the rest was up to Paul and Pat and some great players," he said. McKinney joined the

the following season in 1980–81. He was hired at the recommendation of a guilt-ridden Buss, who was a business partner with Pacers owner Frank Mariani. In his first season, McKinney was named the

after leading the Pacers to their first playoff appearance since the former

(ABA) team joined the NBA during the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

of 1976. Over the next three seasons, however, the team's performance regressed, and McKinney was fired after the Pacers posted the league's worst record in the 1983–84 season. He was soon hired as the head coach of the Kansas City Kings, but resigned from the position on November 18, 1984, after the team started with a 1–8 record in the 1984-85 season. He left coaching for good afterwards, citing ongoing issues with his memory, plus no longer feeling passionate about the profession.

Later years

After he left coaching, McKinney relocated back to his native Pennsylvania with his family. He worked as a sales representative for a major sporting goods company, while also filling in at times as a color analyst 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 ...

broadcasts. He said he got offers to come back to coaching, but never took any of them. Eventually, he and his wife would retire to Florida. In 2005, McKinney co-authored a book about his experiences at Saint Joseph's, and donated 10 percent of its proceeds to the school. McKinney died on September 25, 2018, at a hospice in

Bonita Springs, Florida (beautiful), eng, beautiful springs , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Bonita_Beach.JPG , imagesize = 250x200px , image_caption = Bonita Beach , image_flag ...

, at the age of 83.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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Publications

* Jack McKinney with Robert Gordon, ''Jack McKinney's Tales from the Saint Joseph's Hardwood: The Hawk will Never Die'', Sports Publishing (2005)

References

External links

NBA stats
at Basketball-Reference.com

at Sports-Reference.com

at Sports-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinney, Jack 1935 births 2018 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Pennsylvania College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in the United States Indiana Pacers head coaches Kansas City Kings head coaches Los Angeles Lakers head coaches Philadelphia Rams men's basketball coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania