Kim Hughes (born June 4, 1952) is an American former

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 coach. He played professional basketball in 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) and 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 New York / New Jersey Nets,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

between 1975 and 1981. Hughes served as the interim head coach for 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 ...

for 33 games in 2010. On July 4, 2015, he was fired from his position as an assistant coach with 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 ...

Playing career

The 6-foot-11 Hughes played college basketball at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1971 to 1974, averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds as a senior. His identical twin, Kerry, also 6-11, was also a starter on the Badgers. Hughes was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the third round (ninth pick) of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...

; immediately, he played professionally in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during the 1974–75 season for

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. He spent the 1975–76 season with 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

(ABA), where he averaged eight points and nine rebounds and was named to the First Team ABA All-Rookie Team. The 1976 Nets team, which featured

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 ...

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

Larry Kenon Larry Joe Kenon (born December 13, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9" forward who had a productive career in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), Kenon play ...

and Brian Taylor, won the ABA championship. Hughes spent two more seasons with the Nets after the franchise moved to the

(NBA). In July 1978, Hughes signed with the

, where he played for two full seasons. Eight games into the

1980–81 NBA season The 1980–81 NBA season was the 35th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. As of 2022, this was the last t ...

, Hughes was traded to 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 ...

. He retired from the NBA at the end of the 1981 season, but continued to play professionally in Italy until 1989. During his ABA and NBA career, Hughes averaged 3.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and had field goal and free throw percentages of 49.7% and 39.7%, respectively.

Career statistics

ABA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1975–76† , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 84 , , – , , 25.7 , , .530 , , .000 , , .455 , , 9.2 , , 0.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 84 , , – , , 25.7 , , .530 , , .000 , , .455 , , 9.2 , , 0.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 8.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1975–76† , align="left" ,

, 12 , , – , , 22.2 , , .509 , , .000 , , .400 , , 6.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.1 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , – , , 22.2 , , .509 , , .000 , , .400 , , 6.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.1 , , 5.0

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , – , , 25.7 , , .427 , , – , , .275 , , 7.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 56 , , – , , 15.3 , , .356 , , – , , .310 , , 4.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , 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 ...

, 81 , , – , , 13.4 , , .538 , , – , , .400 , , 4.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 70 , , – , , 17.3 , , .505 , , .000 , , .366 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 1.1 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , – , , 19.9 , , .440 , , .000 , , .500 , , 6.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 45 , , – , , 7.4 , , .356 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 341 , , – , , 16.8 , , .449 , , .000 , , .333 , , 4.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 1.1 , , 2.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , – , , 11.7 , , .500 , , – , , .500 , , 3.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , – , , 11.7 , , .500 , , – , , .500 , , 3.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 1.0

Coaching career

Hughes has worked as a scout and assistant coach with the NBA's Denver Nuggets,

, and

. In 2004, Hughes was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, but the Clippers and

Donald Sterling Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) fro ...

refused to cover the cost of his surgery. Several Clippers players, including

Corey Maggette Corey Antoine Maggette (; born November 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He became an analyst for Fox Sports. High school and college career Magget ...

Chris Kaman Christopher Zane Kaman (born April 28, 1982) is a German-American former professional basketball player. Kaman stands 7'0" (2.13 m) and played the Center (basketball), center position. He was selected sixth overall in the first round of the 2003 ...

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

Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player and the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selecte ...

, chipped in to pay for Hughes' treatment. It turned out that the cancer was more advanced than previously thought and about to metastasize. The cost of the surgery was estimated by Hughes to be at least $70,000. On February 4, 2010, Hughes replaced

Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Michael Joseph Dunleavy Sr. (born March 21, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and general manager of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. He was most recently the head coach of the Tulane U ...

as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. On April 15, 2010, Hughes was released from his duties as interim head coach after going 8–25. On August 17, 2012, Hughes was named as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. On July 4, 2015, it was reported that Kim Hughes was relieved of his duties as assistant coach of the

due to circumstances related to media statements and free agency.

Head coaching record

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

L.A. 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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 33 , , 8 , , 25 , , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, , — , , — , , — , , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 33 , , 8 , , 25 , , , , , , — , , — , , — , , — , ,

References

External links

Kim Hughes coaching profile

at basketball-reference {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Kim 1952 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Buffalo Braves draft picks Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Denver Nuggets players Lega Basket Serie A players Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Los Angeles Clippers head coaches New Jersey Nets players New York Nets players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players People from Freeport, Illinois Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Twin sportspeople Viola Reggio Calabria players Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players