Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former

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 (appro ...

player and coach.

Career

Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, graduating in 1970. He then played collegiately with the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, scoring 1,079 points over his career. While playing for South Carolina, Winters was hampered due to both a severe case of mononucleosis and a series of knee injuries. He was the 12th pick in the 1974 NBA draft, taken by 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Winters made the NBA All-Rookie Team with the Lakers before he was traded to 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

as part of the deal that brought future Hall of Fame center

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

to the West Coast, which Abdul-Jabbar had demanded. On April 18, 1976, in the first playoff series of his NBA career, Winters scored 33 points and recorded 5 assists in a 107–104 Game 3 loss against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. On November 30, 1976, Winters scored a career-high 43 points in a 115–106 victory over the Trailblazers. The following season, on December 16, 1977, Winters scored 24 points and made a game-winning jumpshot during a 152–150 triple overtime win against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. On March 19, 1978, Winters scored 22 points and recorded a career-high 18 assists in a 117–106 victory against the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. Overall, he had a productive nine-year career that included two appearances in the

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

and six in the playoffs, and was a fan-favorite during the years that the Bucks struggled through immediately following the aforementioned Abdul-Jabbar trade. Winters averaged 16.2 points and 4.1 assists over his career, with his best years coming from 1975–76 to 1979–80, when he averaged 18.7 points. 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. His game declined in the 1982–83 season, however, when he shot a career-worst 43 percent in the field, after which he retired at 31 years of age. The Bucks organization retired his number 32 on October 28, 1983, he was the third player in franchise history to be honored with a jersey retirement. In a 2005 interview, Chicago Bulls superstar

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

singled out Winters as the best "pure shooter" in history, claiming that "he had the most beautiful stroke of all the people whom e couldthink of." After retiring from the NBA, Winters became an assistant coach for two years under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton. From there, he moved on to become an assistant coach under Hall of Famer

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fi ...

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for 7 years and

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

for two more. Next he was the inaugural coach for the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

for a year and a half. Later Winters coached with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

and

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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He was formerly the head coach of the WNBA's

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

, leading them to their first ever consecutive-year playoff appearances. On October 26, 2007, Winters option wasn't picked up by the Indiana Fever, ending his four-year tenure with the club. He compiled a 78–58 record in the regular season to go with a 5–7 playoff record. He was a scout for the Indiana Pacers for several seasons until he was let go during the NBA lockout in August 2011. He spent the 2012–13 season as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats. Winters has been a talent scout for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

since 2014. He played a role in convincing the Pacers to draft Myles Turner.

Head coaching record

NBA

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Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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WNBA

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NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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, 78 , , – , , 34.8 , , .498 , , – , , .847 , , 3.0 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , – , , 34.4 , , .463 , , – , , .840 , , 3.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , – , , 32.6 , , .493 , , – , , .856 , , 2.2 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 19.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , – , , 32.8 , , .479 , , .373 , , .860 , , 2.8 , , 4.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , – , , 25.7 , , .475 , , .353 , , .869 , , 2.0 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 13 , , 30.0 , , .501 , , .387 , , .788 , , 2.8 , , 4.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 12 , , 23.9 , , .434 , , .324 , , .859 , , 1.9 , , 2.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 10.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 650 , , 25 , , 30.7 , , .475 , , .363 , , .842 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 16.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 1 , , 15.0 , , .417 , , – , , – , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 5.0

Playoffs

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1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

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, 3, , –, , 42.0, , .629, , –, , .800, , 2.3, , 5.0, , 1.7, , 0.7, , 27.3 , - , 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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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, 9, , –, , 33.9, , .497, , –, , .741, , 3.3, , 6.4, , 1.3, , 0.9, , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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

, 7, , –, , 38.3, , .460, , .429, , 1.000, , 3.0, , 5.3, , 1.6, , 0.0, , 15.9 , - , 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 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

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

, 7, , –, , 25.9, , .459, , .333, , .750, , 3.3, , 3.1, , 1.4, , 0.1, , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1982 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , –, , 38.7, , .494, , .500, , .833, , 2.5, , 4.7, , 1.3, , 0.2, , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

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, 9, , –, , 26.7, , .429, , .273, , .824, , 2.4, , 3.6, , 0.7, , 0.4, , 9.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , – , , 33.0 , , .490 , , .396 , , .808 , , 2.9 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 15.5

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Brian Winters (as NBA coach)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winters, Brian 1952 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American basketball scouts American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Archbishop Molloy High School alumni Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Queens, New York Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Golden State Warriors head coaches Indiana Fever coaches Indiana Pacers scouts Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Milwaukee Bucks players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers New York Nets draft picks Princeton Tigers men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Small forwards South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Vancouver Grizzlies head coaches