Larry Brown

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
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  • Sport(s): Basketball
  • Statistics: 1 NBA Championship (2004)
    1 NCAA Division I Tournament Win (1988)
    2 NCAA Division I Final Fours (1980 & 1988)
    1 NBA Coach of the Year Award (2001)
    3 ABA Coach of the Year Awards (1973, 1975 & 1976)
    1 Naismith Coach of the Year (1988)
    2 Big Eight Tournament Championships (1984 & 1988)
    1 Olympic Gold Medal (2000) (as an assistant)
    1 Olympic Bronze Medal (2004)
    1,327-1,011 NBA & ABA Record
    262-100 NCAA Record
    Member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
    Member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame

    *1 ABA Championship (1969)
    *3 ABA All-Star Games (1968, 1969 & 1970)

    *As a player
  • Larry Brown was the head coach for nine different NBA teams (Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York, and Charlotte), and he took eight of them (all but the Knicks) to the playoffs. That in itself is special, as Brown is the only coach ever to do so, but he made the finals three times, one with Philadelphia and two with Detroit.

    Brown's Pistons won the championship in 2004 by defeating the uber-talented Lakers, who had Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. That win made him the first coach to win an NBA title and NCAA championship, as he took the Kansas Jayhawks all the way in 1988. He also was named the Coach of the Year in the ABA, NBA, and NCAA, another feat that nobody else accomplished.

    Brown may have bounced around a lot, but his resume is one of the most complete of any basketball coach.

    We are proud to nominate Larry Brown for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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