Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is an American 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 ...

coach and former player currently serving as an assistant coach for 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers, winning an

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 a ...

in 1977 and named an NBA All-Star in 1978. The Trail Blazers retired his No. 14.

Playing career

During his ten-year NBA career playing as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

he played for five teams, averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 assists per game. In 1974 Lionel suffered a serious injury from a moped crash when a bicyclist collided. Fortunately this did not affect his career, but ultimately his left pinky and ring finger never healed correctly. Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the sixth pick of the 1975 NBA draft out of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, Hollins was bestowed All-Rookie first team honors that season, averaging 10.8 points in 78 games for the Blazers. Prior to his two seasons at Arizona State, he played two yearsMen's Hoops To Induct Lionel Hollins Into Pac-10 Hall Of Honor - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site
at Dixie College in St. George, Utah. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1986 with a degree in sociology. He was a member of Trail Blazers' 1976–77 championship team, and made his only All-Star Game appearance one year later. He was a member of the NBA All-Defensive team twice, in 1978 and 1979. On April 18, 2007, the Portland Trail Blazers retired his #14 jersey.

Coaching career

Prior to his head coaching career, Hollins served as an assistant coach at Arizona State in the 1985–86 season and again in the 1987–88 season. He then served as an assistant for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

under head coaches

Cotton Fitzsimmons Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Mi ...

and Paul Westphal from 1988 to 1995. In the 1999–2000 season, Hollins acted as the interim head coach while the Grizzlies were still located in Vancouver. He served another stint as interim coach of the Grizzlies in 2004, after the team had moved to Memphis. Hollins served as head coach for the St. Louis SkyHawks of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 2002. On May 14, 2008, Hollins was hired as one of

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 196 ...

head coach Scott Skiles' assistants. On January 25, 2009, Hollins was named the Grizzlies' head coach for the third time in the franchise's history. On February 11, 2011, Hollins won his 100th career victory, as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, in an 89–86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. That season, he led his team to a 46–36 record, earning the eighth seed in the playoffs. The Grizzlies defeated the number-one seed

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

before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. In the lockout-shortened NBA season, Hollins' Grizzlies finished the season with a 41–25 record and the best winning percentage in franchise history (.621). After guiding the Grizzlies to a 13–3 record during the month of April, Hollins was named April's Coach of the Month. This streak helped the Grizzlies earn the four seed in the Western Conference, with home court advantage for the first time in franchise history. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. In 2012–2013, Hollins led Memphis to a franchise record 56-win season. Memphis lost to the

in the Western Conference Finals in a four-game sweep. Differing views between Hollins and management seemed to be pointing to an eventual change despite Hollins' success. Even though it was announced that Hollins' contract would not be renewed by the team on June 10, 2013, he was still the Grizzlies' most successful coach, having improved the team's record almost every season. He led them to three straight playoff appearances, their first playoff win, a franchise best .683 winning percentage, and the first playoff series victory in franchise history. . In the time between Memphis and Brooklyn, Hollins chose Kauffman Sports Management Group as his representation. On July 2, 2014, Hollins and the Brooklyn Nets reached an agreement for him to serve as the team's head coach for the next four seasons. On July 7, 2014, he was officially introduced by the Nets at a press conference. In his first season as head coach, he guided the Nets to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. On January 10, 2016, he was relieved of his head coaching duties by the Nets after starting the 2015–16 season with a 10–27 record. On July 31, 2019, 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 ...

hired Hollins as an assistant coach. Hollins won his 2nd championship on October 11, 2020 when the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in 6 games. On July 3, 2022, the

hired Hollins as an assistant coach.

Personal life

Hollins's son, Austin Hollins, played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for 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. ...

's men's basketball team.Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies face first true road game at Minnesota - Hokies Journal - The Washington Post
/ref> His son has also played professionally in the EuroLeague, with the Serbian club

KK Crvena Zvezda Košarkaški klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Црвена звезда, ), commonly referred to as KK Crvena zvezda mts for sponsorship reasons or simply Crvena zvezda, is a men's professional basketball club based i ...

. His other son, Anthony, played Division 3 basketball for the at-the-time top-ranked team in the country, Washington University in St. Louis Bears. He’s now an orthopedic surgeon.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 74 , , , , 25.6 , , .421 , , – , , .721 , , 2.4 , , 4.1 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 76 , , , , 29.3 , , .432 , , – , , .749 , , 2.8 , , 4.1 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , , , 33.8 , , .442 , , – , , .743 , , 3.4 , , 4.7 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 64 , , , , 30.7 , , .454 , , – , , .778 , , 2.3 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 20 , , , , 20.7 , , .385 , , .100 , , .642 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 27 , , , , 29.5 , , .415 , , .200 , , .770 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , , , 26.3 , , .470 , , .133 , , .731 , , 2.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 27.9 , , .477 , , .125 , , .702 , , 2.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, 56 , , 54 , , 32.9 , , .437 , , .143 , , .721 , , 2.3 , , 6.7 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 32 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .381 , , .000 , , .846 , , .7 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 80 , , 60 , , 24.4 , , .461 , , .231 , , .794 , , 2.2 , , 5.2 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 673 , , , , 27.4 , , .444 , , .149 , , .741 , , 2.4 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 11.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 23.0 , , .375 , , – , , .800 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1977† , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 19, , —, , 35.9, , .417, , –, , .682, , 2.7, , 4.5, , 2.5, , .3, , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 6, , —, , 37.2, , .449, , –, , .690, , 4.8, , 5.5, , 1.2, , .0, , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1979 , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 3, , —, , 22.0, , .308, , –, , .714, , 1.0, , 1.7, , 1.0, , .0, , 7.0 , - , 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 – In ...

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

, 18, , —, , 34.3, , .416, , .000, , .794, , 3.9, , 6.3, , 1.5, , .2, , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1981 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16, , —, , 30.6, , .441, , .000, , .784, , 2.1, , 4.1, , 1.1, , .1, , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

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

, 8, , —, , 14.3, , .306, , .000, , .667, , 1.1, , 3.1, , 1.1, , .1, , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1984 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2, , —, , 3.0, , .000, , –, , –, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .5, , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 1, , 18.8, , .308, , –, , 1.000, , 1.8, , 3.6, , .8, , .0, , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 77 , , — , , 29.8 , , .411 , , .000 , , .733 , , 2.7 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 11.8

Head coaching record

, - , align="left" ,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, align="left" , , 60, , 18, , 42, , , , align="center" , 7th in Midwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 4, , 0, , 4, , , , align="center" , —, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 39, , 13, , 26, , , , align="center" , 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 82, , 40, , 42, , , , align="center" , 4th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 82, , 46, , 36, , , , align="center" , 4th in Southwest, , 13, , 7, , 6, , , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 66, , 41, , 25, , , , align="center" , 2nd in Southwest, , 7, , 3, , 4, , , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 82, , 56, , 26, , , , align="center" , 2nd in Southwest, , 15, , 8, , 7, , , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Finals , - , align="left" ,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 38, , 44, , , , align="center" , 3rd in Atlantic, , 6, , 2, , 4, , , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 37, , 10, , 27, , , , align="center" , (fired), , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" colspan="2", Career , 534, , 262, , 272, , , , , , 41, , 20, , 21, , , ,

References

External links

*
NBA.com coach file
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollins, Lionel 1953 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball coaches Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kansas Basketball players from Kansas Brooklyn Nets head coaches Detroit Pistons players Utah Tech Trailblazers men's basketball players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Houston Rockets players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies head coaches Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players with retired numbers People from Arkansas City, Kansas People from Germantown, Tennessee Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Point guards Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players San Diego Clippers players United States Basketball League coaches Vancouver Grizzlies assistant coaches Vancouver Grizzlies head coaches