Lester Habegger (November 13, 1924 – July 6, 2017) was the general manager of the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

from 1983 to 1985. Before he joined the SuperSonics, Habegger became an assistant coach for the

Seattle Pacific Falcons The Seattle Pacific Falcons (also SPU Falcons) are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent Seattle Pacific University, located in Seattle, Washington, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Falcons compete as members of the Great No ...

in 1956. As their coach from 1957 to 1974, Habegger and Seattle Pacific reached the quarterfinals of the

1965 NCAA College Division basketball tournament The 1965 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1964–65 ...

. Upon leaving his coaching position, Habegger had 272 wins and 176 losses. For his NBA career, Habegger primarily worked as an assistant coach for the SuperSonics and 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 ...

between 1977 and 1987. Habegger continued his assistant coaching experience with the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

in 1990. Outside of the United States, Habegger coached in Germany from 1987 to 1990. With Steiner Bayreuth, his team won multiple

German Basketball Cup Basketball Bundesliga-Pokal, commonly known as the BBL-Pokal, is the annual national basketball cup competition in Germany. Since 2009, the title has been awarded to the winner of a tournament competition between top clubs of each Basketball Bunde ...

s and were fifth at the

1988–89 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The 1988–89 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup was the twenty-third edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup champions. It took place between 11 October 1988 and ...

. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life and education

Habegger was born in

Berne, Indiana Berne (English: ɜːn is a city within Monroe and Wabash townships, Adams County, Indiana, United States, located south of Fort Wayne. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 Census. Berne is widely known for its Swiss heritage, architectur ...

on November 13, 1924. He lived with the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

and had nine siblings. For his post-secondary education, Habegger went to Northwestern College, Wheaton College and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Career

For his military experience, Habegger was part of the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. He worked with the 274th Infantry Regiment as a

combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...

during the 1940s. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Habegger began assistant coaching for Northwestern College while completing his college education. Upon graduating, he became a basketball coach for the

in 1956 as an assistant coach before being promoted to head coach in 1957. As a member of the NAIA, his team did not qualify for the

1961 NAIA basketball tournament The 1961 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured th ...

after they were defeated in the District I playoffs final that year. In the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, Habegger and his team were part of the

and reached the quarterfinals. After leaving his coaching position in 1974, Habegger had 272 wins and 176 losses. With his wins, Habegger set a career record for

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

. Outside of the NCAA, Habegger began working in the NBA as an assistant coach for the

in 1977. He was promoted to general manager of the SuperSonics in 1983 and remained as GM until 1985. After his position of general manager ended, Habegger became the SuperSonics's Habegger director of player personnel in April 1985. He remained with the SuperSonics until 1986 and joined the

as an assistant coach the following year. From 1987 to 1990, Habegger was a coach in Germany as part of the Basketball Bundesliga league. Between 1988 and 1989, Habegger and Steiner Bayreuth won back to back

s. In 1989, Habegger and Steiner won the BBL championship. At

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

competitions, his team was fifth at the

. Before ending his position in 1990, Habegger could not coach Steiner due to his injured back. That year, Habegger went to the

to become an assistant basketball coach. During the mid-1990s, Habegger decided not to resume his basketball experience in Germany when Steiner asked him to become their coach again.

Personal life and death

Habegger had two children before he died on July 6, 2017, in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

Awards and honors

Habegger was inducted into the University of Northwestern – St. Paul Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Seattle Pacific University Hall of Fame in 2004. He also entered the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Habegger, Les 1924 births 2017 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Indiana Medi Bayreuth coaches Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Seattle Pacific Falcons men's basketball coaches Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Seattle SuperSonics general managers University of Minnesota alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni American expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Expatriate basketball people in West Germany