Alvin Gentry - Lessons Learned as a 30 Year NBA Coach (EP. 031)

Sports Business Classroom Audio Experience

In today’s episode, we sat down with long time NBA coach Alvin Gentry. Coach Gentry has spent over 30 years as a coach in the NBA and was most recently the Head Coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. Growing up in Shelby, North Carolina, Coach Gentry had plenty of stories about cutting his teeth on the court with his cousin and former NBA star David Thompson.In this episode we discuss:What the job of an NBA Head Coach entailsCoach Gentry’s path to the top of his sport A “WOW” moment with Zion WilliamsIn 1989, Gentry began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Larry Brown, where he coached for three seasons. He then moved to Detroit following the 1994–95 season where he served as an assistant for two and a half seasons before being named head coach late in the 1997–98 season. Coach Gentry took over the head job for the Clippers from 2000-2003. Later, he became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns for six years, serving under head coaches Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter; and was named Suns' head coach for the 2009-2010 season. In 2013 he returned to the Clippers organization, taking the title of associate head coach, making him Doc Rivers' lead assistant.After one season with the Clippers, Gentry signed a three-year contract as associate head coach for the Golden State Warriors. In 2015, he signed with the Pelicans, prior to the start of the NBA Finals, but was to remain with Golden State until the series was completed; Gentry won his first NBA Championship with the Warriors that year.Connect with Beau Estes: Twitter Connect with Alvin Gentry: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter