Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) 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 coach who is a consultant for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

of 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). His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with the San Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a 5-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...

forward; four consecutive times between

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and 1977, and again in 1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981. On December 9, 1977, during a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Tomjanovich was the victim of a life-threatening punch to his face brought upon him by Lakers power forward

Kermit Washington Kermit Alan Washington (born September 17, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. Washington was not a highly-cove ...

. This ended his season after 23 games; after fully recovering, Tomjanovich played in the NBA for three more seasons. After about eight years of being an assistant coach, Tomjanovich was promoted to head coach of the Rockets from 1992 to 2003, including when the Rockets won two consecutive

NBA championships 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 aw ...

in 1994 and 1995. Tomjanovich coached

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

to the gold medal in men's

basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball contests at the 2000 Summer Olympics was the fifteenth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It was held from 16 September 2000 to 1 October 2000. Games took place at the Sydney SuperDome and t ...

. He also coached 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 ...

during part of the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, i ...

. He was inducted into the

Naismith Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

on May 16, 2021.

Early life

Tomjanovich was born in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

, the son of Catherine (Modich) and Rudy Tomjanovich. He is of Croatian descent. He attended high school in Hamtramck and later the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1967–1970). He was a high school teammate of ABA player

John Brisker John Brisker (June 15, 1947 – disappeared April 11, 1978, declared dead May 29, 1985) was an American professional basketball player from Detroit, Michigan who disappeared in Uganda in April 1978. Career A 6'5" forward/guard who played for the ...

Playing career

College career (1967–1970)

In college, Tomjanovich set

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nation ...

career rebounding records that continue to stand. In 1968 he earned second team All-Big Ten honors, which he followed with first-team honors in 1969 and 1970. During 1970 he was also an All-American.

San Diego / Houston Rockets (1970–1981)

Tomjanovich was selected in the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

as the second overall pick by the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

(the franchise relocated to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 1971), for whom he would play the entirety of his

NBA 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 ...

career. He was also drafted in both 1970 and 1974 by the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

of the ABA. In his eleven years in the NBA, Tomjanovich had a scoring average of 17.4 points and a rebounding average of 8.1, earning five

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

selections in the process (1974–1977, 1979). He is the fourth-leading scorer in Rockets history behind

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA ...

and Hall of Famers

Calvin Murphy Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Assoc ...

and

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

. Because his last name was so long, the back of Tomjanovich's jerseys would read "RUDY T.", rather than his 11 character name. The Rockets retired Tomjanovich's #45 jersey upon the conclusion of his playing career. His collegiate jersey, also #45, was retired by the University of Michigan in 2003.

Kermit Washington incident

During a game on December 9, 1977, Tomjanovich was punched by

of the

after Tomjanovich ran to stop a fight at center court. The blow shattered Tomjanovich's face and inflicted life-threatening head and spinal injuries, leaving him sidelined for five months. He eventually made a full recovery and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game the following 1978–79 season. The incident and its aftermath are recounted in the

John Feinstein John Feinstein (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator. Early life Feinstein was born to a Jewish family in New York City on July 28, 1956. His father was heavily involved in the arts having been the Gen ...

book ''The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever'', as well as in Tomjanovich's 1997 autobiography ''A Rocket at Heart: My Life and My Team''.

Coaching career

Coaching style

Tomjanovich was well known for his instinctive managerial style and intensity on the bench. Always self-deprecating, he nonetheless heaped tremendous pressure on himself and his assistants to be prepared for each game, several times being hospitalized for exhaustion. After winning back-to-back titles, Tomjanovich deflected much of the praise and eschewed the "genius" label assigned to other champion coaches like Chuck Daly and

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 ...

. His hands-off, easy-going manner with his players gave him a reputation as a "players coach", and as such veteran players were eager to play on his teams. Among the stars who requested and were granted trades to Houston during his tenure were

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

, and

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

U.S. Men's national team

In 1998, Tomjanovich volunteered to coach the U.S. men's senior basketball team at the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

in Greece. Despite the absence of NBA players due to contract negotiations, Tomjanovich guided the hastily assembled group of CBA and college players to the bronze medal. In light of his outstanding service in coaching at the 1998 Worlds and his stellar professional resume, Tomjanovich was tabbed to coach the U.S. men's senior team at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. Team won the gold medal with an 8–0 record. On February 15, 2006, Tomjanovich was named director of scouting for USA Men's Basketball.

NBA

Houston Rockets (1992–2003)

Tomjanovich retired in 1981 and became a scout for two years before being named an assistant coach in 1983. He served as an assistant under

Bill Fitch William Charles Fitch (May 19, 1932 – February 2, 2022) was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He developed multiple teams into playoff contenders and won an NBA championship with the Bost ...

and

Don Chaney Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of The Year while leading the Houston Roc ...

. Tomjanovich was named the Rockets' interim head coach in February 1992 after Chaney's resignation. After nearly leading the Rockets to a playoff berth, he was then given the job on a permanent basis. In his first full season on the job ( 1992–93), Tomjanovich guided the Rockets to the Midwest Division title, making him the first head coach to ever take his team from the lottery to a division crown during his first full season. Building on this success, Tomjanovich led the team to back-to-back NBA championships in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

; additionally, the Rockets were the only team other than 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 ...

to win multiple championships during the 1990s, with their titles being bookended by the Bulls' two runs of three consecutive titles each. On the playoff run to their second title, the Rockets became the lowest seed (sixth) to win one, and the only team in history to defeat the teams with the four best regular-season records in the playoffs. It was on the floor of The Summit after they captured their second title that Tomjanovich proclaimed, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!" In his 11-plus season tenure as Rockets head coach, he posted a 503–397 (.559) regular-season record and a 51–39 (.567) playoff mark. His career wins and winning percentage are Rockets franchise records. After the 1998-99 season, the Rockets would not make the playoffs for the rest of his coaching tenure, and would consistently finish in the division cellar; Tomjanovich left the team after the 2002–03 season when he was diagnosed with

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...

(from which he has since made a full recovery), ending a 33-year association with the Rockets franchise—including its first 32 years in Houston—as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

Los Angeles Lakers (2004–2005)

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Tomjanovich signed a five-year, $30 million contract to replace

as coach of the

. He resigned after 43 games, citing mental and physical exhaustion unrelated to his past bout with bladder cancer. The Lakers paid him a $10 million settlement, leading to speculation that the Lakers had instead terminated his contract. Tomjanovich stayed with the Lakers as a consultant.

Personal life

In 1970, Tomjanovich married Sophie Migas, a former cheerleader. They have two daughters and one son. He currently resides in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. Tomjanovich has participated with the Texas Children's Cancer Center to help raise funds for cancer research. He has also helped promote a

deadbolt A dead bolt, deadbolt or dead lock is a locking mechanism distinct from a spring bolt lock because a deadbolt can only be opened by a key or handle. The more common spring bolt lock uses a spring to hold the bolt in place, allowing retraction ...

called the "Ultimate Lock" and CieAura health care products.

Accomplishments

*NBA Champion head coach (1994, 1995) *Head coach of the gold medalist USA men's basketball team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

*Head coach of the bronze medalist USA men's basketball team at the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

*5-time All-Star (1974–1977, 1979) *NCAA All-American (1970) *All-time

leader in rebounds. Second on U-M all-time list in points per game *Holds the

Crisler Arena Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its women's ...

single game scoring and rebounding records *Averaged 17.4 points per game on 50.1% shooting during his NBA career *Michigan Sports Hall of Fame *Houston Sports Hall of Fame *Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1970–71 , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, 77 , , ... , , 13.8 , , .383 , , ... , , .652 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , ... , , ... , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1971–72 , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , ... , , 34.5 , , .495 , , ... , , .723 , , 11.8 , , 1.5 , , ... , , ... , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1972–73 , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , ... , , 36.7 , , .478 , , ... , , .746 , , 11.6 , , 2.2 , , ... , , ... , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1973–74 , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , ... , , 40.3 , , .536 , , ... , , .848 , , 9.0 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 24.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1974–75 , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , ... , , 38.7 , , .525 , , ... , , .790 , , 7.6 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 20.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1975–76 , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , ... , , 36.9 , , .517 , , ... , , .767 , , 8.4 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1976–77 , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , ... , , 38.6 , , .510 , , ... , , .839 , , 8.4 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .3 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977–78 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , ... , , 36.9 , , .485 , , ... , , .753 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .2 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1978–79 , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , ... , , 35.7 , , .517 , , ... , , .760 , , 7.7 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1979–80 , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , ... , , 29.6 , , .476 , , .278 , , .803 , , 5.8 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980–81 , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , ... , , 24.3 , , .467 , , .235 , , .793 , , 4.0 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 768 , , ... , , 33.5 , , .501 , , .262 , , .784 , , 8.1 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 17.4

Playoffs

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

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

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

, 8 , , ... , , 38.0 , , .563 , , ... , , .833 , , 8.0 , , 2.9 , , .1 , , .5 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , ... , , 38.1 , , .505 , , ... , , .784 , , 5.4 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .3 , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1979 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , ... , , 32.0 , , .391 , , ... , , .400 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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

, 7 , , ... , , 26.4 , , .375 , , .143 , , .692 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

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

, 8 , , ... , , 3.9 , , .111 , , .000 , , .667 , , .8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 37 , , ... , , 28.1 , , .489 , , .100 , , .771 , , 5.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .2 , , 13.8 , -

Head coaching record

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

, style="text-align:left;", , 30, , 16, , 14, , .533, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 55, , 27, , .671, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Midwest, , 12, , 6, , 6, , .500 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 58, , 24, , .707, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Midwest, , 23, , 15, , 8, , .652 , style="text-align:center;", Won

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 ...

, - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 47, , 35, , .573, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Midwest, , 22, , 15, , 7, , .682 , style="text-align:center;", Won

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

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 48, , 34, , .585, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Midwest, , 8, , 3, , 5, , .375 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 57, , 25, , .695, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Midwest, , 16, , 9, , 7, , .563 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 41, , 41, , .500, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Midwest, , 5, , 2, , 3, , .400 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

First Round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

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

, style="text-align:left;", , 50, , 31 , , 19, , .620, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Midwest, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

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

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 34, , 48, , .415, , style="text-align:center;", 6th in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 45, , 37, , .549, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 28, , 54, , .341, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 43, , 39, , .524, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. 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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 43, , 24, , 19, , .558, , style="text-align:center;", (resigned), , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , , , 943, , 527, , 416, , .559, , , , 90, , 51, , 39, , .567

Footnotes

References

* Feinstein, John. ''The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever''. Publisher: Back Bay Books.

External links

University of Michigan profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomjanovich, Rudy 1948 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American autobiographers American basketball scouts American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American Olympic coaches American people of Croatian descent Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Michigan Houston Rockets assistant coaches Houston Rockets head coaches Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers head coaches Los Angeles Lakers scouts Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches National Basketball Association players with retired numbers People from Hamtramck, Michigan Power forwards (basketball) San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players United States men's national basketball team coaches Utah Stars draft picks Violence in sports

Early life

Playing career

College career (1967–1970)

San Diego / Houston Rockets (1970–1981)

Kermit Washington incident

Coaching career

Coaching style

U.S. Men's national team

NBA

Houston Rockets (1992–2003)

Los Angeles Lakers (2004–2005)

Personal life

Accomplishments

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

See also

Footnotes

References

External links