James Mitchell Cleamons (born September 13, 1949) 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 and current coach.
Playing career
He played collegiately at the
Ohio State University
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 publ ...
, and was selected by 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 ...
with the 13th pick of the
1971 NBA draft. He had a nine-year NBA career for four teams (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
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 ...
, 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 the
Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
). In 1976, Cleamons was selected to the NBA All-Defense 2nd team.
Coaching career
Cleamons worked as an assistant coach for 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 ...
from 1989 to 1996. He was the head coach of 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 ...
for slightly over one year, from 1996 to 1997. He was then the head coach of the
Chicago Condors
The Chicago Condors were a very short-lived member of the American Basketball League (ABL). Their hometown was much larger than usual for the ABL, which mainly targeted mid-market cities, and initial team merchandising was successful. The team a ...
of the American Basketball league, a short-lived women's professional basketball league in the mid Nineties. He also served as 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 ...
and
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and caused extensive damage to the New Orleans Arena. As a result, the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s New Orleans Hornets were unable to play any home games at th ...
. For a few games during his tenure with the Lakers, he served as acting head coach while
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...
was absent.
In 2011, Cleamons became a coach in the
Chinese Basketball Association
The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China.
The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...
. In 2013, he became an assistant with 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 ...
.
In 2014, Cleamons joined 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 ...
coaching staff under
Derek Fisher
Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los ...
.
In 2017, Cleamons accepted a position as an assistant coach for the Yeshiva University of Los Angeles (YULA) high school boys basketball team.
Head coaching record
College
NBA
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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 ...
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References
External links
BasketballReference.com: Jim Cleamons (as coach)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleamons, Jim
1949 births
Living people
African-American basketball coaches
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in China
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from North Carolina
Basketball players from North Carolina
Cleveland Cavaliers players
Chicago Bulls assistant coaches
Dallas Mavericks head coaches
Dallas Mavericks expansion draft picks
Furman Paladins men's basketball coaches
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches
Los Angeles Lakers draft picks
Los Angeles Lakers players
Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches
New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches
New York Knicks assistant coaches
New York Knicks players
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players
People from Lincolnton, North Carolina
Washington Bullets players
Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball coaches
Guards (basketball)
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople