Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) 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. He was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

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 ...

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 ...

from 2008 to 2010, and the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

from 2010 to 2013. Del Negro is currently an analyst with

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...

Early life

Del Negro was born on August 9, 1966, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. His father, Vince, was a two-time junior college All-American, and taught his son to play basketball at a young age. Vinny made the varsity basketball team during his freshman year at Cathedral High School. He caught the attention of Dennis Kinne, the basketball coach at

Suffield Academy Suffield Academy is a private preparatory school located in Suffield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1833 to train young men for ministry in the Baptist Church. The tuition fees for students are currently $65,000 for boarders and $38,700 for day s ...

, who persuaded him to attend Suffield Academy so that he could play basketball for them. Vinny led Suffield Academy to two

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

championships. He scored 1,116 points, becoming Suffield Academy's all-time leading scorer.

Playing career

Del Negro played for

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, most notably at North Carolin ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. As a senior, he was selected to the All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

team after averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. In his junior season, Del Negro led the Wolfpack to the 1987 ACC Tournament championship and was named tournament MVP. Del Negro was selected by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

with the 29th pick in the

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

. He would play two seasons there before leaving for Italy and Benetton Treviso for another two years (he won the Italian championship in 1992 with over 25 points per game). Upon his return to the NBA in 1992, Del Negro joined the

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 (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

where he would play for the next six years. During the 1996 NBA Playoffs, Del Negro averaged a career-high 14.3 points a game. In early 1999, he played four games in Italy for Teamsystem Bologna, before signing with 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 ...

, where he played in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons. Del Negro was traded to 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 ...

in a three-team deal that also involved 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 ...

in June 2000. In January 2001 he was traded to 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 ...

, and was traded to the

in a three-team deal with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in November, although he would never play for them, and subsequently retired. Del Negro's career statistics included averaging 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 47.5% from the field and 84.0% from the free-throw line.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 80 , , 2 , , 19.5 , , .475 , , .300 , , .850 , , 2.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 76 , , 29 , , 24.4 , , .462 , , .313 , , .871 , , 2.6 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 73 , , 31 , , 20.9 , , .507 , , .250 , , .863 , , 2.2 , , 4.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 56 , , 25.3 , , .487 , , .349 , , .824 , , 2.1 , , 4.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 75 , , 71 , , 31.5 , , .486 , , .407 , , .790 , , 2.6 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.7 , , .497 , , .380 , , .832 , , 3.3 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 72 , , 53 , , 31.2 , , .467 , , .314 , , .868 , , 2.9 , , 3.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 12.3 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 54 , , 38 , , 31.9 , , .441 , , .436 , , .796 , , 2.8 , , 3.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 48 , , 7 , , 22.8 , , .422 , , .433 , , .800 , , 2.1 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 67 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .471 , , .333 , , .897 , , 1.6 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" , Golden State , 29 , , 1 , , 13.7 , , .333 , , .111 , , 1.000 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 36 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .528 , , .000 , , .893 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .250 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 771 , , 370 , , 24.9 , , .475 , , .359 , , .840 , , 2.3 , , 3.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 9.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .447 , , .222 , , 1.000 , , 2.4 , , 3.0 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 23.3 , , .444 , , .500 , , .600 , , 1.8 , , 4.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , 15 , , 25.5 , , .432 , , .450 , , .833 , , 2.1 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 37.9 , , .460 , , .593 , , .684 , , 2.6 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 3 , , 31.4 , , .481 , , .200 , , .941 , , 2.7 , , 3.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .433 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 8.7 , , .571 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 54 , , 32 , , 25.3 , , .454 , , .431 , , .812 , , 2.2 , , 2.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 8.8

Coaching career

Del Negro worked as a radio commentator for the

before being promoted to director of player personnel for the Suns in 2006. In 2007, the Suns promoted him to the position of assistant

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. On June 9, 2008, multiple media reports indicated Del Negro had agreed to become the new head coach of the

. He became the favorite for the job after former Bulls' coach Doug Collins withdrew his name from consideration. Two days later, Del Negro was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Bulls, replacing

Jim Boylan Jim Boylan (born April 28, 1955) is an American basketball coach. He served as the interim head coach for the Chicago Bulls for part of the 2007–08 NBA season. He also served as an interim coach for the Milwaukee Bucks for part of the 2012– ...

and becoming the 17th head coach in Bulls' history. Del Negro finished his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls with a 41–41 record, sufficient for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls played a seven-game series against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, featuring four overtime games with a total of a record seven overtime periods, before losing. Del Negro finished his second season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls with a 41–41 record, sufficient for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls lost the best of seven series in five games against the

. The Bulls announced Del Negro's dismissal on May 4, 2010. On July 6, 2010, multiple league sources confirmed that Del Negro would become the next head coach of the

. At the end of Del Negro's first season with the Clippers, the Clippers finished with a record of 32–50, missing the playoffs. Despite missing the playoffs, the Clippers did have the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consensu ...

. Del Negro and Clippers followed up this mediocre season by acquiring All-Star point guard

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

and finishing fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 40–26, one game shy of the division leading

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 ...

. The Clippers advanced to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since they moved to Los Angeles in 1984. Del Negro coaching the Clippers in 2011 A year later, Del Negro led the Clippers to the best season in the franchise's 43-year history. The Clippers notched a franchise-record 17-game winning streak, including a perfect 16–0 mark in December. They won a franchise-record 56 games, their first 50-win season ever, as well as their first Pacific Division title. The title was clinched after defeating the Lakers on April 7, which also completed a season sweep of their crosstown rivals, 4–0. The franchise had not swept the Lakers since 1974–75, when the Clippers were the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

. It was also the first time in 20 years since 1992–93 that the Clippers won the season series against the Lakers. However, the Clippers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, 4–2, after winning the first two games. On May 21, 2013, it was announced that the Clippers would not renew Del Negro's contract after its expiration at the end of June. At times during the season, he was criticized for his player rotations. Del Negro had a 128–102 regular-season record in three seasons with the club, and his .557 winning percentage was the highest in club history. He was only the second coach to leave the Clippers with a winning record. However, much of the club's success was credited to Paul and Griffin. According to

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...

and CBSSports.com, Paul, who was scheduled to become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the offseason, did not support Del Negro's return. Del Negro felt that Paul had "a lot of say-so" in the team's decisions, and Clippers owner

Donald Sterling Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) fro ...

said he needed to be supportive of the team's star players. Paul was upset that he was being blamed, and the Clippers later denied any player involvement in the coaching decision.

Personal life

Del Negro is of Italian ancestry. His father, Vince, played basketball at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

under legendary coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...

. Del Negro won the 2021

American Century Championship The American Century Championship is a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada, United States. It is held during the second full week of July at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, at the shore of Lake Tahoe. The course is at the southeast edg ...

Head coaching record

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

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 41, , 41, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, , 7, , 3, , 4, , , , 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;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 41, , 41, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Central, , 5, , 1, , 4, , , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 32, , 50, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, , —, , —, , —, , —, , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 66, , 40, , 26, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Pacific, , 11, , 4, , 7, , , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 56, , 26, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 6, , 2, , 4, , , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 394, , 210, , 184, , , , , , 29, , 10, , 19, , , ,

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Negro, Vinny 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Italian descent Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players from Springfield, Massachusetts Chicago Bulls head coaches Golden State Warriors players Los Angeles Clippers head coaches Milwaukee Bucks players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Pallacanestro Treviso players Phoenix Suns players Point guards Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards