Kevin Michael Loughery (born March 28, 1940) 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 the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach.

Career biography

Loughery spent 11 seasons 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 St ...

(1962–1973), almost nine of them with the Baltimore Bullets. He was traded along with

Fred Carter Fredrick James Carter (born February 14, 1945), nicknamed "Mad Dog" or "Doggy", is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons (1969– 77) for the Balti ...

from the Bullets to the Philadelphia 76ers for Archie Clark, a

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

second-round selection (19th overall– Louie Nelson) and cash on October 17, 1971. His head coaching career began when he replaced Roy Rubin as

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of a 76ers team that was 4–47 on January 23, 1973. He received a player-coach contract which included an offer to continue in that capacity for two more years beyond the balance of that season. The team slightly improved under Loughery, posting a 5–26 record for the remainder of the season. He declined the offer to stay with the 76ers and was eventually replaced by

Gene Shue Eugene William Shue (December 18, 1931 – April 3, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shue was one of the top guards of the early days of the NBA and an influential figure ...

on June 15, 1973. Instead in the meantime, he effectively retired as an active player when he accepted a five‐year contract as head coach of the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of the American Basketball Association (ABA) on April 26, 1973, succeeding

Lou Carnesecca Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for three sea ...

who had elected to return to St. John's University in a similar capacity. With superstar

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

, Loughery won two ABA championships in three seasons. After the ABA disbanded and the Nets joined the NBA, Loughery continued to coach the Nets for their first five seasons in the league. The team would struggle in their first couple of seasons without Erving, whose contract was sold to the Philadelphia 76ers due to financial struggles. The team would also move to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and become the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. He was fired midway through the 1980–81 season and replaced by Bob MacKinnon. Loughery was hired by 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

the very next season and he guided them to two straight playoff appearances, including one with rookie

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

. He was fired once again after the 1982–83 season and replaced by

Mike Fratello Michael Robert Fratello (born February 24, 1947) is an American sports broadcaster and a professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently an analyst for Fox Sports Ohio for the Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for Fox Sports West f ...

. The next two seasons, Loughery coached 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 ...

. In his second season with rookie Michael Jordan, the Bulls made the playoffs. In the book ''The Jordan Rules'' Michael was quoted as saying that Loughery was the most fun coach he ever played for and that Loughery allowed him to free-lance and play the style he wanted. Loughery was a longtime on-and-off broadcaster for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

' coverage of the NBA throughout the '80s, calling regular season and late playoff games. Loughery went to 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 ...

the next season as an assistant to

. When Shue was fired with 13 games left in the 1985–86 season, Loughery guided the team to the playoffs and once again the next season. The Bullets got off to a bad start in 1987–88 and Loughery was fired once again. After working in broadcasting once again, doing part time work for TBS and TNT, Loughery was hired by 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 ...

as their second coach three years after they joined the league as an expansion team. Loughery guided the Heat to their first ever playoff appearance and again in 1993–94. After his stint with the Heat, Loughery went back into broadcasting, first working with CNN/SI until 2002 when they folded. Loughery, who at times contributed as a guest for ESPN Radio, then joined ESPN Radio's broadcast of the 2002 NBA Finals as a guest, later being hired full-time by ESPN for their radio broadcasts of the NBA starting with the 2002-03 season.

Coaching record

NBA

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MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

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, align="left" , , 82, , 36, , 46, , .439, , align="center" , 5th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 42, , 40, , .512, , align="center" , 4th in Atlantic, , 5, , 2, , 3, , .400 , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 46, , 17, , 29, , .370, , align="center" , (fired), , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 1136, , 474, , 662, , .417, , , , 27, , 6, , 21, , .222

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Kevin Loughery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loughery, Kevin 1940 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Atlanta Hawks head coaches Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Chicago Bulls head coaches Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Los Angeles Clippers announcers Miami Heat head coaches New Jersey Nets head coaches New York Knicks draft picks New York Nets head coaches Philadelphia 76ers head coaches Philadelphia 76ers players Player-coaches Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Brooklyn St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Washington Bullets head coaches Cardinal Hayes High School alumni