Coby Joseph Karl (born June 8, 1983) 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 who is the head coach of the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He is the son of NBA head coach

George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, Karl became an assistant with the team before getting the chance to become a ...

High school career

Karl attended Homestead High School in

Mequon, Wisconsin Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the comm ...

, and lettered in basketball. He was an All-Suburban selection, a first team All-Conference selection, and an All-State Honorable Mention selection as a senior. Karl graduated in 2002.

College career

Karl played basketball at

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

while majoring in Mass Communications. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard led the Broncos in points (17.2) and assists (4.0) as a junior, and he averaged 14.8 points and 4.0 assists during his senior season en route to First Team All-WAC honors in 2007. Karl had weighed whether to return to college for his senior year or to enter the 2006 NBA Draft, attending a few pre-draft workouts for various professional teams. However, he decided to return to college.

Professional career

Karl was not drafted by an NBA team, but made the Lakers' 15-man roster as a free agent. Karl made his NBA debut on October 30, 2007, with the Lakers versus the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, playing 37 seconds and registering no statistics. He was assigned to the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On February 19, 2008, Karl joined Lakers' second-year guard

Jordan Farmar Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an Israeli-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named the ''Los Angeles Times'' High School Player of the Y ...

as the only other player in league history to see action in same-day D-League and NBA games. Karl was then recalled from the

for the third time that season, which is the most any player can be recalled in one season. In April 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Karl and his father became the first father and son to ever oppose each other in the NBA playoffs. Karl was a reserve for the Lakers, and his father was the head coach for the Nuggets. Coby Karl was released by Los Angeles on October 27, 2008. Karl joined the Spanish pro club

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

in January 2009. In September 2009, Karl reached an agreement to attend training camp with 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 ...

, where he competed for a regular-season roster spot. On October 22, 2009 the Cavaliers made three final cuts, ensuring Karl a spot on their opening day roster. The Cavaliers waived Karl on January 6, 2010, sending him to free agency. On January 30, 2010, Karl was signed to a 10-day contract by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. After his stint with the Warriors, he returned to the NBA D-League as a member of the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. On April 11, 2010, Karl was signed to the Nuggets to an undisclosed contract. He was waived by the Nuggets on August 16, 2010. In September 2010, he returned to play in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, signing a one-year contract with

CB Granada Club Baloncesto Granada, S.A.D. was a professional basketball team based in Granada, Andalusia. The team was founded in 1994 and has had notable players during its history, including Curtis Borchardt, Darvin Ham, Giorgos Sigalas, Scott Padgett, P ...

. In May 2011, after being relegated to the second division in Spain with

, he signed with Armani Jeans Milano 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 ...

until the end of the season. In September 2011, he signed with Fabi Shoes Montegranaro in

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

in Italy. In October 2012, Karl rejoined the Idaho Stampede. On July 30, 2013, Karl signed with

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestr ...

of Italy. He left them in December 2013. He then signed with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

. On March 12, he left Riesen Ludwigsburg with the intent of going to the D-League. On March 17, 2015, he signed with Reno and made his debut. On August 21, 2015, Karl retired.

Coaching career

On October 27, 2015, Karl was hired as an assistant coach by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in White ...

, the NBA Development League affiliate of the New York Knicks. Westchester made significant improvement during the one season Karl spent on the bench, upping its record from 10-40 in 2014-15 to a 28-22 mark during the 2015-16 campaign. On September 12, 2016, Karl took over his first head coaching role with the NBA D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders, the affiliate team of the Lakers. He was not retained by the organization prior to the 2021–22 season. On September 28, 2021, Karl became the new head coach of the

Thyroid cancer

Karl also underwent radio-active iodine treatment, a painless and simple out-patient treatment, for papillary carcinoma, a

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...

cancer considered by doctors to be one of the most treatable forms of cancer. After his senior year, Karl again had another surgery to remove cancerous cells. His father left the Nuggets to be with his son during the seven-hour surgery and returned to the team after the completion of the surgery.Karl says son is doing well after cancer surgery
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NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 ...

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Playoffs

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Notes

External links

*
NBA D-League player profileACB.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karl, Coby 1983 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Montana Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Montana Basketball players from Wisconsin Boise State Broncos men's basketball players CB Granada players Cleveland Cavaliers players Golden State Warriors players Idaho Stampede players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Lakers players Los Angeles D-Fenders coaches Los Angeles D-Fenders players Olimpia Milano players Pallacanestro Reggiana players People from Mequon, Wisconsin Reno Bighorns players Riesen Ludwigsburg players Shooting guards South Bay Lakers coaches Sportspeople from Great Falls, Montana Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Undrafted National Basketball Association players