George Karl

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George Karl

Position	Guard
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
League	ABA/NBA
Born	May 12, 1951 (1951-05-12) (age 57) Penn Hills, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
High school	Penn Hills
College	North Carolina
Draft	4th round, 65th overall, 1973 New York Knicks
Pro career	1973–1978
Former teams	San Antonio Spurs (1973–1978)

George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) player and current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. Karl is currently 12th on the all-time win list for coaches in the NBA.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Coaching record 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Karl was born in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After a college career at the University of North Carolina he signed with the ABA's San Antonio Spurs in 1973. When the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, Karl began his two-year NBA playing career. After his playing career, Karl became an assistant coach for the Spurs. Karl then moved on to the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) as head coach of the Montana Golden Nuggets (Great Falls). As coach of the Golden Nuggets, Karl won CBA Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1983.

In 1984, Karl became the head coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers until he was fired in 1986. He later coached the Golden State Warriors until 1988, achieving a winning record and a first-round playoff upset in his first season, before being fired after a terrible start to the 1987-88 campaign. He coached briefly in the 1989 season for the Utah Jazz as an assistant. After being fired from Jerry Sloan's staff in Salt Lake City, Karl returned to the CBA as coach of the Albany Patroons, winning the coach of the year award in 1991.

Karl returned to the NBA as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics from 1991-1998, leading them to the NBA Finals in 1996 where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. In all seven of his seasons in Seattle, the team made the postseason, winning three division titles, and eclipsing the 50-win mark in every year that he was the full-time coach. The biggest disappointment of Karl's tenure in Seattle came in 1994, when the 63-win Sonics were upset in the first round by the Denver Nuggets, marking the first time in NBA history that an eight seed defeated a number one seed.

In 1998, Karl moved to the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach, lured by an excellent contract. He rebuilt a struggling team in his first three years, steadily increasing win totals, and guiding the team within one game of the NBA Finals in 2001. However, his team collapsed down the stretch in 2002, falling from the number one spot in the Eastern Conference in January to a season that ended out of the playoffs. He was fired after another underachieving season in 2003, where his team made the playoffs with a win total of just over the .500 mark.

He coached the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.^[1]

He returned to the NBA in 2005 when he became head coach of the Nuggets, taking over from interim head coach Michael Cooper on January 27 and leading the team on an incredible run to the postseason. He also spent two years in Spain coaching the Real Madrid basketball team in 1989-90 and 1991-92.^[2]

On July 27, the Nuggets announced that Karl had prostate cancer. He has enjoyed a resurrection of his career with the Denver Nuggets, guiding them to an unprecedented 32-8 record in the second half of the 2004-05 season. Karl's son Coby is a reserve guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, after a career as starting point guard for Boise State University. Coby came out for the 2006 NBA Draft after a bout with thyroid cancer, but withdrew his name before the draft and returned to Boise State for his senior year.

On December 28, 2006, Karl became just the 12th coach in NBA history to reach the 800-win mark when his Denver Nuggets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 112-98.

[edit] Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		G	W	L	PCT	Finish	Result
CLE	1984-85	82	36	46	.439	4th in Central	Lost in First Round
CLE	1985-86	66	25	42	.373	5th in Central	(fired)
GS	1986-87	82	42	40	.512	3rd in Pacific	Lost in Second Round
GS	1987-88	64	16	48	.250	5th in Pacific	(fired)
SEA	1991-92	42	27	15	.643	4th in Pacific	Lost in Second Round
SEA	1992-93	82	55	27	.671	2nd in Pacific	Lost in Conf. Finals
SEA	1993-94	82	63	19	.768	1st in Pacific	Lost in First Round
SEA	1994-95	82	57	25	.695	2nd in Pacific	Lost in First Round
SEA	1995-96	82	64	18	.780	1st in Pacific	Lost in NBA Finals
SEA	1996-97	82	57	25	.695	2nd in Pacific	Lost in Second Round
SEA	1997-98	82	61	21	.744	1st in Pacific	Lost in Second Round
MIL	1998-99	50	28	22	.560	4th in Central	Lost in First Round
MIL	1999-00	82	42	40	.512	5th in Central	Lost in First Round
MIL	2000-01	82	52	30	.634	1st in Central	Lost in Conf. Finals
MIL	2001-02	82	41	41	.500	5th in Central	Missed Playoffs
MIL	2002-03	82	42	40	.512	4th in Central	Lost in First Round
DEN	2004-05	40	32	8	.800	2nd in Northwest	Lost in First Round
DEN	2005-06	82	44	38	.537	1st in Northwest	Lost in First Round
DEN	2006-07	82	45	37	.549	2nd in Northwest	Lost in First Round
DEN	2007-08	82	50	32	.610	2nd in Northwest	Lost in First Round
	Career	1493	879	614	.588

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Coaching Record
• NBA Coaching Profile
• Career Stats (Player)
• Career Stats (Coach)
• More Career Stats (Player)
• Son Coby

Preceded by Tom Nissalke	Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach 1984–1986	Succeeded by Gene Littles
Preceded by Johnny Bach	Golden State Warriors Head Coach 1986–1988	Succeeded by Ed Gregory
Preceded by K. C. Jones	Seattle SuperSonics Head Coach 1992–1998	Succeeded by Paul Westphal
Preceded by Chris Ford	Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach 1998–2003	Succeeded by Terry Porter
Preceded by Michael Cooper	Denver Nuggets Head Coach 2005–present	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e United States squad - 2002 FIBA World Championship - 6th place 4 Finley | 5 B.Davis | 6 A.Miller | 7 O'Neal | 8 A.Davis | 9 Pierce | 10 R.Miller | 11 Marion | 12 Williams | 13 Wallace | 14 Brand | 15 LaFrentz | Coach: Karl

v • d • e Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland, Ohio The Franchise Franchise • All-Time Roster • Seasons • Current season Arenas Cleveland Arena • Coliseum at Richfield • Quicken Loans Arena Head Coaches Fitch • Albeck • Musselman • Delaney • Kloppenburg • Daly • Musselman • Nissalke • Karl • Littles • Wilkens • Fratello • Wittman • Lucas • Smart • Silas • Malone • Brown

v • d • e Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors Oakland, California The Franchise Franchise • All-Time roster • Seasons • Current season Arenas Philadelphia Arena • Philadelphia Convention Hall • Cow Palace • San Francisco Civic Auditorium • USF War Memorial Gymnasium • HP Pavilion • Oracle Arena Head Coaches List of Golden State Warriors head coaches Gottlieb • Senesky • Cervi • Johnston • McGuire • Feerick • Hannum • Sharman • Lee • Attles • Bach • Attles • Bach • Karl • Gregory • Nelson  • Lanier • Adelman • Carlesimo • St. Jean • Cowens • Winters • Musselman • Montgomery • Nelson NBA Finals Champion 1947 • 1956 • 1975

v • d • e Seattle SuperSonics Head Coaches Bianchi • Wilkens • Nissalke • Buckwalter • Russell • Hopkins • Wilkens • Bickerstaff • Jones • Karl • Westphal • McMillan • Weiss • Hill • Carlesimo

v • d • e Milwaukee Bucks Head Coaches Costello • Nelson • Harris • Hamblen • Dunleavy • Ford • Karl • Porter • Stotts • Krystkowiak • Skiles

v • d • e Denver Rockets/Denver Nuggets Denver, Colorado The Franchise Franchise • All-Time roster • Seasons • Draft history • Current season Arenas Denver Auditorium Arena • Denver Coliseum • McNichols Sports Arena • Pepsi Center Head Coaches Bass • McLendon • Belmont • Albeck • Hannum • Brown • Walsh • Moe • Westhead • Issel • Littles • Bickerstaff • Motta • Hanzlik • D'Antoni • Issel • Evans • Bzdelik • Cooper • Karl

v • d • e Denver Nuggets current roster 0 Green | 1 Smith | 3 Iverson | 4 Martin | 5 Diawara | 11 Jones | 12 Atkins | 15 Anthony | 21 Najera | 23 Camby | 25 Carter | 31 Nenê | 43 Kleiza | 45 Hunter | Coach Karl

v • d • e Current head coaches of the National Basketball Association
East	Atlantic	D. Rivers (Boston)	L. Frank (New Jersey)	M. D'Antoni (New York)	M. Cheeks (Philadelphia)	S. Mitchell (Toronto)
	Central	V. Del Negro (Chicago)	M. Brown (Cleveland)	M. Curry (Detroit)	J. O'Brien (Indiana)	S. Skiles (Milwaukee)
	Southeast	M. Woodson (Atlanta)	L. Brown (Charlotte)	E. Spoelstra (Miami)	S. Van Gundy (Orlando)	E. Jordan (Washington)
West	Southwest	R. Carlisle (Dallas)	R. Adelman (Houston)	M. Iavaroni (Memphis)	B. Scott (New Orleans)	G. Popovich (San Antonio)
	Northwest	G. Karl (Denver)	R. Wittman (Minnesota)	N. McMillan (Portland)	P. J. Carlesimo (Seattle)	J. Sloan (Utah)
	Pacific	D. Nelson (Golden State)	M. Dunleavy (L.A. Clippers)	P. Jackson (L.A. Lakers)	T. Porter (Phoenix)	R. Theus (Sacramento)