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Eddie Jordan (basketball)

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Eddie Jordan
Jordan in January 2007
Personal information
Born (1955-01-29) January 29, 1955 (age 69)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolArchbishop Carroll
(Washington, D.C.)
CollegeRutgers (1973–1977)
NBA draft1977: 2nd round, 33rd overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1977–1984
PositionShooting guard
Number30, 15, 5
Coaching career1997–2018
Career history
As player:
1977Cleveland Cavaliers
19771980New Jersey Nets
19801983Los Angeles Lakers
1983Wyoming Wildcatters
1984Portland Trail Blazers
1984Los Angeles Lakers
As coach:
1986–1988Boston College (assistant)
1988–1991Rutgers (assistant)
19921997Sacramento Kings (assistant)
19971998Sacramento Kings
19992003New Jersey Nets (assistant)
20032008Washington Wizards
2009–2010Philadelphia 76ers
2012–2013Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
2013–2016Rutgers
2017–2018Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points3,414 (8.1 ppg)
Rebounds788 (1.9 rpg)
Assists1,595 (3.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Edward Montgomery Jordan (born January 29, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He formerly served as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, and Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was also head coach for three seasons at Rutgers University.

Basketball career

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College career

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Jordan attended Rutgers University from 1973 to 1977. He was enrolled as a physical education student, but failed to graduate.[1][2][3] Jordan helped lead the school to the 1976 NCAA Final Four, during which he was named East Regional MVP. At Rutgers, Jordan acquired the nickname "Fast Eddie."[4] In his senior season, Jordan was named honorable mention All-America, while setting Rutgers' all-time career records in assists (585) and steals (220).

NBA career

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Early NBA career

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Jordan was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 1977 NBA draft (33rd overall), and was acquired by the New Jersey Nets halfway through his rookie season. Jordan tied Norm Nixon (Los Angeles Lakers) for the lead in total steals with 201 in 1978–1979,[5] and was second in total steals, 223, in 1979–80 (behind the New York Knicks' Micheal Ray Richardson with 265).[6]

Later NBA career

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Jordan played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980–81 season, and was a member of the 1982 NBA World Championship team. He played for the Lakers for four years and then played briefly with the Portland Trail Blazers. Jordan retired from the NBA after the 1983–84 season. Over his seven-year NBA career, Jordan averaged 8.1 points, 3.8 assists and 1.82 steals per game.

Coaching career

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NCAA

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After retiring from the NBA in 1984, Jordan was a volunteer assistant at Rutgers University under his former college head coach, and his eventual Wizards' assistant, Tom Young. Jordan followed Young to Old Dominion University as a part-time assistant as before and subsequently obtained an assistant coaching position at Boston College under Jim O'Brien in 1986. He also became an assistant coach at Rutgers in 1988.

NBA

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Kings

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In 1992, Jordan became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings, and remained an assistant for five seasons. Jordan was promoted to head coach on March 20, 1997, during the final fifteen games of the 1996–97 regular season and remained the head coach during the 1997–98 season, during which he compiled a 33–64 record as the Kings' head coach. Jordan was fired after the 1997–98 season.

Nets

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Jordan joined the New Jersey Nets coaching staff on March 17, 1999, and served as the lead assistant for four seasons. While in New Jersey, Jordan helped guide the squad to consecutive Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.

Wizards

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2003–06
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Later that year, Jordan signed a four-year contract worth a little more than $3 million per year with the Washington Wizards and was introduced as head coach of the team on June 19, 2003.

Washington finished with a 25–57 record during Jordan's inaugural season as head coach. The following year, Jordan helped guide the Wizards to a 20-game improvement in 2004–05. Only the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns experienced a greater improvement in total wins from the previous year.

On April 11, 2005, Jordan won his 100th career game as a head coach, and improved his career record to 103–158. During the 2004–05 regular season, Jordan's second with the Wizards, he led the team to a 45–37 record, which was the franchise's best season since 1978–79. The record established a new record for wins in a season at Verizon Center, earned the team a five seed in the Eastern Conference, and was the Wizards' first playoff berth since the 1996–97 season. The Wizards played the fourth seeded Chicago Bulls and won the series four games to two. The team rallied from a 0–2 deficit to win the series with four consecutive wins. It was the team's first postseason series win since 1982.

2006–07
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In the 2006–07 season, Jordan guided the Wizards to a third straight playoff berth for the first time since 1988. Jordan won the Coach of the Month award for December, guiding Washington to a 12–4 record during that month. Jordan coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars at the NBA All-Star Game on February 18 in Las Vegas, the first coach from the franchise since Dick Motta in 1978–79.

2007–08
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In the 2007–08 season Jordan led the Wizards to a fourth straight playoff berth despite beginning the year 0–5. The Wizards were eliminated in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third straight year.

Jordan was fired as head coach of the Washington Wizards on November 24, 2008, after a 1–10 start. At the time of his firing Jordan was the longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference and as their coach he guided the Wizards to four straight playoff appearances, advancing only once. He compiled a regular season record of 197–224. The 197 victories rank third all-time in franchise history.[7]

Sixers

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2009–2010
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Jordan was officially introduced as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on June 1, 2009.[8]

On Thursday, April 15, Jordan was fired by the 76ers after one season.[9] Later that month, it was reported that Jordan had been one of the leading candidates for the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, Rutgers, but had pulled out of the running to continue to seek a new coaching job in the NBA.[10]

Lakers

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In 2012, Jordan was hired as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers.[11] Jordan was brought in primarily to assist head coach Mike Brown in installing the Princeton offense.

Rutgers

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On April 18, 2013, it was reported that Rutgers would name Jordan head coach, replacing fired head coach Mike Rice.[12][13] On April 23, 2013, Rutgers officially announced the hiring of Eddie Jordan as the 18th head coach of the men's basketball program.[14][15][16]

In three years as coach of the Scarlet Knights, which included their transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Big Ten Conference, Jordan finished each season with twenty or more losses and the 2015–16 season was the worst of the three. Rutgers finished with twenty-five losses, sixteen of which were in conference; a victory against Minnesota in their final regular season game prevented the Scarlet Knights from finishing winless in Big Ten play and broke a thirty-two game conference losing streak. Jordan's final game was on March 9, 2016, as the Scarlet Knights lost to Nebraska in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament; Rutgers announced his firing the next day. His overall record was 29–68, with an 8–46 record on conference play.

Head coaching record

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NBA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Sacramento 1996–97 15 6 9 .400 6th in Pacific Missed Playoffs
Sacramento 1997–98 82 27 55 .329 5th in Pacific Missed Playoffs
Washington 2003–04 82 25 57 .305 6th in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
Washington 2004–05 82 45 37 .549 2nd in Southeast 10 4 6 .400 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Washington 2005–06 82 42 40 .512 2nd in Southeast 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round
Washington 2006–07 82 41 41 .500 2nd in Southeast 4 0 4 .000 Lost in First Round
Washington 2007–08 82 43 39 .524 2nd in Southeast 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round
Washington 2008–09 11 1 10 .091 (fired)
Philadelphia 2009–10 82 27 55 .329 4th in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
Career 600 257 343 .428 26 8 18 .308

College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2013–2014)
2013–14 Rutgers 12–21 5–13 7th
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big Ten Conference) (2014–2016)
2014–15 Rutgers 10–22 2–16 14th
2015–16 Rutgers 7–25 1–17 14th
Rutgers: 29–68 (.299) 8–46 (.148)
Total: 29–68 (.299)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rutgers says coach Jordan has no degree". ESPN.com. May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  2. ^ Eder, Steve (May 11, 2013). "Rutgers Coach Never Completed Degree". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "Eddie Jordan moving forward at Rutgers". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Govlick, George (August 13, 1983). "Eddie Jordan has become a survivor in NBA". The Courier-News. p. B-17. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1978-79 NBA Expanded Leaders". – Basketball-Reference.com. – Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  6. ^ "1979-80 NBA Expanded Leaders". – Basketball-Reference.com. – Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  7. ^ "Washington Wizards Coaches | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  8. ^ Jasner, Phil (June 1, 2009). "Eddie Jordan ready for the challenge". Philadelphia Daily News.
  9. ^ "Jordan dismissed after one season". Associated Press. April 15, 2010.
  10. ^ Prunty, Brendan (April 28, 2010). "After Eddie Jordan pulls out, search for new Rutgers basketball coach begins to take shape". Newark Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Lakers hire Eddie Jordan, Steve Clifford and Bernie Bickerstaff as assistant coaches". Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  12. ^ "Eddie Jordan will be new coach at Rutgers". ESPN.com. April 18, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Carino, Jerry; Sargeant, Keith (April 18, 2013). "Eddie Jordan returns to Rutgers to heal wounds". MyCentralJersey.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "Eddie Jordan Named Head Men's Basketball Coach at Rutgers University". ScarletKnights.com (Press release). Piscataway, New Jersey: Rutgers University. April 23, 2013. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Eder, Steve (May 11, 2013). "Rutgers Coach Never Completed Degree". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "New Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan may lack the degree claimed in his bio". sports.yahoo.com. May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
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