Sam Mitchell (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Sam" E. Mitchell, Jr. (born September 2, 1963 in Columbus, Georgia
) is a retired American
professional basketball
player and a former head coach in the National Basketball Association
(NBA). He is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets
.
, graduated from the Columbus (Georgia) High School
. Afterwards he played college basketball at the Mercer University
for four seasons (1981–85), and scored nearly 2,000 points, becoming the leading scorer in Bears history. He led the team to both the regular-season and postseason Trans-American Atlantic Conference championships in 1985. As a result, the team made the NCAA tournament that year. Then he was drafted by the Houston Rockets
with the 7th pick of the 3rd round (54th overall) in the 1985 NBA Draft
.
Mitchell did not commence play in the NBA after being drafted and until joining 1989 expansion team
, the Minnesota Timberwolves
, in their inaugural season. Prior to his NBA career, he spent three seasons (1985–88) in the Continental Basketball Association
, playing for the Wisconsin Flyers and Rapid City Thrillers, and in the French
Ligue Nationale de Basketball
team of Montpellier
(coached by Pierre Galle
) for the end of the 1987–88 and the whole 1988–89 season. After that, Mitchell started his NBA career, first spending three seasons with the Timberwolves. During his playing days in Minneapolis, he scored a career-high 37 points against the Philadelphia 76ers
on February 3, 1991. On September 8, 1992 he was traded along with point guard
Pooh Richardson
to the Indiana Pacers
in exchange for small forward Chuck Person
and point guard Micheal Williams
. After spending three years with the Pacers, he returned to the Timberwolves for the rest of his career, before retiring in 2002. Mitchell currently is second on the Wolves' all-time scoring and rebounding list.
Mitchell returned to the NBA almost immediately after his retirement as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks
for two seasons until 2004. He then briefly became a part of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats
as their top assistant coach, until moving on to the Toronto Raptors
when he was named as the sixth head coach in Raptors history after incumbent Kevin O'Neill
was fired.
Mitchell was named the coach of the month in January 2007 for his effort bringing the Toronto Raptors back to .500 and leading the Atlantic Division
. On March 30, 2007, Mitchell got his 100th win as NBA coach when the Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards
at the Verizon Center
.
Mitchell, who witnessed his team struggle with rebuilding in his first years as coach, also led the Toronto Raptors to their first division title in franchise history as the team won the Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference in the 2006-07 NBA season
. On April 24, 2007, he was named 2006–07 NBA Coach of the Year. On May 22, 2007 after leading the Raptors to their first playoffs appearance since 2002, and after much speculation, Mitchell was signed to a four year contract with the Raptors.
On November 25, 2007 Mitchell surpassed Lenny Wilkens
for the most wins in team history. Mitchell was the longest reigning head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
On December 3, 2008, after leading the Raptors to a disappointing 8-9 start to the 2008-2009 season, Mitchell was relieved of his duties as the team's head coach. Assistant coach Jay Triano
took over the position of interim head coach of the Raptors. The firing was ridiculed by the TNT Overtime crew because the Raptors were just under .500 at 8-9 at the time of the firing. Chris Webber
predicted that they would not be "as good under another coach." In fact, the Raptors went 25-40 the rest of the season.
Mitchell is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets
.
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||33||49||.402|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||27||55||.329|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |1st in Atlantic||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||41||41||.500|| align="center" |2nd in Atlantic||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|17||8||9||.471|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||345||156||189||.452|| ||11||3||8||.273
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
) is a retired American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player and a former head coach in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). He is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
Basketball career
Mitchell, a 6'6" (198 cm), 210 lb (95.3 kg) small forwardSmall forward
The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...
, graduated from the Columbus (Georgia) High School
Columbus High School (Columbus, Georgia)
Columbus High School is located in Columbus, Georgia, USA. It serves as one of the Muscogee County School District's Liberal Arts Magnet school. It opened in 1890 and has been located throughout the city. In the 2006–2007 school year it was ranked #9. In 2005, the school shared the ranking as the...
. Afterwards he played college basketball at the Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
for four seasons (1981–85), and scored nearly 2,000 points, becoming the leading scorer in Bears history. He led the team to both the regular-season and postseason Trans-American Atlantic Conference championships in 1985. As a result, the team made the NCAA tournament that year. Then he was drafted by the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
with the 7th pick of the 3rd round (54th overall) in the 1985 NBA Draft
1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. A total of 162 players were selected over 7 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick, by winning the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery, which was held...
.
Mitchell did not commence play in the NBA after being drafted and until joining 1989 expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
, the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
, in their inaugural season. Prior to his NBA career, he spent three seasons (1985–88) in the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
, playing for the Wisconsin Flyers and Rapid City Thrillers, and in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Ligue Nationale de Basketball
Ligue Nationale de Basketball
The Ligue National de Basket is the top men's French professional basketball league. There are two divisions: French Pro A League and French Pro B League .-Pro A:...
team of Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
(coached by Pierre Galle
Pierre Galle
Pierre Galle is a French basketball player and coach. He was a member of the France national basketball team from 1968 to 1975. As a coach he coached ASVEL Basket from 1989 to 1991, Hyères-Toulon Var Basket from 1992 to 1994, and others. His brother Jean is also a coach....
) for the end of the 1987–88 and the whole 1988–89 season. After that, Mitchell started his NBA career, first spending three seasons with the Timberwolves. During his playing days in Minneapolis, he scored a career-high 37 points against the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
on February 3, 1991. On September 8, 1992 he was traded along with point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
Pooh Richardson
Pooh Richardson
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson is an American former National Basketball Association player. he was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, their first draft pick in franchise history...
to the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
in exchange for small forward Chuck Person
Chuck Person
Chuck Connors Person is a retired American National Basketball Association player and current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.-High school and college:...
and point guard Micheal Williams
Micheal Williams
Micheal Douglas Williams is a retired American professional basketball player at the point guard position in the National Basketball Association ....
. After spending three years with the Pacers, he returned to the Timberwolves for the rest of his career, before retiring in 2002. Mitchell currently is second on the Wolves' all-time scoring and rebounding list.
Mitchell returned to the NBA almost immediately after his retirement as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
for two seasons until 2004. He then briefly became a part of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
as their top assistant coach, until moving on to the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
when he was named as the sixth head coach in Raptors history after incumbent Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (basketball)
Kevin O'Neill is an American head coach of the USC Trojans basketball team. His personal webpage is www.coachkohoops.com O'Neill was born in Malone, New York and attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada...
was fired.
Mitchell was named the coach of the month in January 2007 for his effort bringing the Toronto Raptors back to .500 and leading the Atlantic Division
Atlantic Division (NBA)
The Atlantic Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Boston Celtics, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors...
. On March 30, 2007, Mitchell got his 100th win as NBA coach when the Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
at the Verizon Center
Verizon Center
Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications, and has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies...
.
Mitchell, who witnessed his team struggle with rebuilding in his first years as coach, also led the Toronto Raptors to their first division title in franchise history as the team won the Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference in the 2006-07 NBA season
2006-07 NBA season
The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on October 31, 2006 and ran through April 18, 2007. The league fielded 30 teams, each playing an 82 game regular season schedule. The top eight seeds from each conference reached the NBA...
. On April 24, 2007, he was named 2006–07 NBA Coach of the Year. On May 22, 2007 after leading the Raptors to their first playoffs appearance since 2002, and after much speculation, Mitchell was signed to a four year contract with the Raptors.
On November 25, 2007 Mitchell surpassed Lenny Wilkens
Lenny Wilkens
Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...
for the most wins in team history. Mitchell was the longest reigning head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
On December 3, 2008, after leading the Raptors to a disappointing 8-9 start to the 2008-2009 season, Mitchell was relieved of his duties as the team's head coach. Assistant coach Jay Triano
Jay Triano
Jay Triano is a retired Canadian professional basketball player and former head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Triano gained recognition during his tenure as coach of the Canadian men's national team. He is also a former national team player, who competed in two Olympics, starting in 1984...
took over the position of interim head coach of the Raptors. The firing was ridiculed by the TNT Overtime crew because the Raptors were just under .500 at 8-9 at the time of the firing. Chris Webber
Chris Webber
Mayce Edward Christopher "Chris" Webber, III , nicknamed C-Webb, is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a five-time NBA All-Star, a former All-NBA First Teamer, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, and a former #1 overall NBA Draftee...
predicted that they would not be "as good under another coach." In fact, the Raptors went 25-40 the rest of the season.
Mitchell is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
Coaching record
|-| align="left" |TOR
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
| align="left" |
|82||33||49||.402|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||27||55||.329|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |1st in Atlantic||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|82||41||41||.500|| align="center" |2nd in Atlantic||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
|-
| align="left" |TOR
| align="left" |
|17||8||9||.471|| align="center" |4th in Atlantic||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||345||156||189||.452|| ||11||3||8||.273
External links
- Sam Mitchell coach profile at NBA.com
- Sam Mitchell at Inside HoopsInside HoopsInsideHoops.com, or Inside Hoops, is a basketball news website that was founded in 1999 by Jeff Lenchiner. The site, which updates several times a day, primarily delivers NBA basketball coverage...
- NBA career stats as a player at Basketball-Reference
- NBA career stats as a coach at Basketball-Reference