Melvin Hunt (born December 15, 1969) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who last served as an assistant coach of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

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 St ...

(NBA).

Early life

A native of

Tallulah, Louisiana Tallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 population was 7,335, a decrease of 1,854, or 20.2 percent, from the 9,189 recorded at the 2000 census. As this was historically a ...

, Hunt earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in education from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

where he spent four years on the basketball team. He was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter for the Bears from 1987–91 and helped lead his team to both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Following his graduation, Hunt played professional basketball in the Caribbean and Mexico.

Coaching career

Hunt began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Temple High School (TX) before moving to the college ranks where he was the lead assistant coach at

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

in San Antonio. On 1999 he signed with the Houston Rockets, where he spent five years, serving his first two years as a video coordinator/scout and his second two as an assistant coach, before spending his final year as the team's college and international scout. After this, he spent a year as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers and then five years as an assistant in the Cleveland Cavaliers; there he helped to lead the Cavaliers to one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. In 2008–09, the Cavs won a franchise and NBA-best 66 games, while Hunt and the coaching staff earned the honor of coaching the Eastern Conference in the

2009 NBA All-Star Game The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2009, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. It was the 58th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the US ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. Cleveland also enjoyed great postseason success during Hunt's tenure with the team, reaching the

2007 NBA Finals The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs de ...

, the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals and four consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Semifinals from 2007–10. On 2010, after finishing his contract with Cleveland, he signed with the Denver Nuggets, spending the next few years as an assistant coach. He was appointed the interim head coach of the Nuggets after

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

was fired on March 3, 2015. On March 3, he made his coaching debut against 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 ...

, winning 106–95. On June 30, 2015 he joined the Dallas Mavericks to become an assistant coach.

Head coaching record

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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 ...

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Personal life

Hunt and his wife have two children.

References

External links

Melvin Hunt profile
at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Melvin 1969 births Living people African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Baylor Bears men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Denver Nuggets head coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets assistant coaches Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches People from Tallulah, Louisiana 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople