Sam Mitchell (basketball)

Last updated
Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (1705066) (cropped).jpg
Mitchell with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014
Personal information
Born (1963-09-02) September 2, 1963 (age 60)
Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Columbus (Columbus, Georgia)
College Mercer (1981–1985)
NBA draft 1985: 3rd round, 54th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career1985–2002
Position Small forward
Number42, 5
Coaching career2002–2019
Career history
As player:
1985–1986 Wisconsin Flyers
1986 Tampa Bay Flash
1986–1987 Rapid City Thrillers
1987–1989 Montpellier
19891992 Minnesota Timberwolves
19921995 Indiana Pacers
19952002 Minnesota Timberwolves
As coach:
20022004 Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
20042008 Toronto Raptors
20102012 New Jersey Nets (assistant)
2014–2015 Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant)
2015–2016 Minnesota Timberwolves (interim)
2018–2019 Memphis (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points 8,636 (8.7 ppg)
Rebounds 3,711 (3.7 rpg)
Assists 1,089 (1.1 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Samuel E. Mitchell Jr. (born September 2, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Playing at small forward, Mitchell's 18-year professional basketball career spanned three decades, and was most notable for his ten seasons with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, whom he also coached as an interim for the 2015–16 season. Mitchell coached for the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2008 as well, winning Coach of the Year Award in 2007.

Contents

Mitchell has since worked as an analyst for TSN, NBA TV, and works as a talk show co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Early years

Mitchell graduated from Columbus High School in 1981. He spent the next four years playing college basketball at Mercer University (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. Averaging 25 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a senior, Mitchell led the Bears to just their second NCAA tournament in team history in 1985; they would not return for nearly 30 years, until the 2014 tournament.

Mitchell had enlisted in the Army during his junior year, and at the conclusion of the 1985 NCAA tournament he went to boot camp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He left one month later when he was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 7th pick of the 3rd round (54th overall) in the 1985 NBA draft. However, he was cut during final cuts and joined the Wisconsin Flyers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

Unhappy in the CBA, Mitchell quit the team midway through the season to return home to Georgia, where a former professor hired him a special education teacher for the remainder of the school year. With his summer off, he tried out for the U.S. Basketball League, and joined the Tampa Bay Flash, who he helped lead to the league title. He rejoined the Rockets for training camp afterwards, but was once again cut and joined the CBA, splitting the season between the Wisconsin Flyers and Rapid City Thrillers. He then joined the French LNB Pro A team of Montpellier Basket (coached by Pierre Galle) for the end of the 1987–88 and the whole 1988–89 season.

Success overseas led to a renewed interest from the NBA, and Mitchell earned a contract with the newly formed Minnesota Timberwolves. He spent three years in Minnesota, before being traded to the Indiana Pacers. While having a smaller role with the Pacers than he did with the Timberwolves, Mitchell did help Indiana reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994–95. Following that season, he returned to Minnesota. Future All-Star Kevin Garnett was drafted by the Timberwolves out of high school that year, and Mitchell has been credited with helping Garnett's development. Mitchell retired from the league following the 2001–02 season.

Coaching career

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, [1] 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. [2]

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 season. On April 24, 2007, he was named 2006–07 NBA Coach of the Year. [3] 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. [4]

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 2008–09 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, which later made him the first foreign-born player to coach a team in the NBA. [5] The firing was ridiculed by the TNT Overtime crew because the Raptors were only one game under .500 at the time of the firing. Chris Webber predicted that they would not be "as good under another coach." [6] In fact, the Raptors went 25–40 the rest of the season.

Mitchell was hired as an assistant coach by the New Jersey Nets on July 19, 2010. On December 6, 2011, Nets hired P.J. Carlesimo and Mario Elie as new assistant coaches and Mitchell was reassigned to a scouting position.

On 2012, Sam Mitchell named head coach of USA select to 2012 William Jones Cup in Taiwan and his team finished bronze medal.

On June 16, 2014, Mitchell was hired as an assistant coach by the Minnesota Timberwolves. [7]

On September 11, 2015, Mitchell became the Timberwolves' interim head coach after Flip Saunders had to take a leave of absence to receive treatment after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. [8] On October 25, 2015, Saunders died at age 60. For the rest of the season, Mitchell became the official head coach, although he would still be treated as an interim coach. During his sole season coaching the Timberwolves, he would coach them to the fifth-worst record in the league with a 29–53 record.

On April 13, 2016, Mitchell was relieved of his interim head coaching duties as the coach of the Timberwolves after the last game of the season, allowing them to look for a permanent coach. [9] He would then be replaced by former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.

On June 13, 2018, Mitchell was hired by the University of Memphis as assistant coach under Penny Hardaway. [10]

After one year as one of Memphis's assistant coaches, Sam Mitchell is no longer with the program.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
 * Led the league

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1989–90 Minnesota 803030.2.446.000.7685.81.1.8.712.7
1990–91 Minnesota 826038.1.441.000.7756.31.6.8.714.6
1991–92 Minnesota 826326.2.423.182.7865.81.1.6.510.1
1992–93 Indiana 81117.3.445.174.8113.1.9.3.17.2
1993–94 Indiana 751814.5.458.000.7452.5.9.4.14.8
1994–95 Indiana 811217.0.487.100.7243.0.8.5.26.5
1995–96 Minnesota 784227.5.490.056.8144.3.9.6.310.8
1996–97 Minnesota 82525.0.446.160.7594.01.0.6.29.3
1997–98 Minnesota 813327.6.464.349.8324.81.3.8.312.3
1998–99 Minnesota 50*2026.9.408.237.7643.62.0.7.311.2
1999–00 Minnesota 662418.6.447.237.7642.11.7.4.26.5
2000–01 Minnesota 82412.0.408.209.7271.5.7.3.13.5
2001–02 Minnesota 74109.8.432.286.7761.1.6.2.13.3
Career99432222.4.447.223.7843.71.1.6.38.7

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1993 Indiana 406.3.6251.000.3.0.0.03.0
1994 Indiana 1506.6.346.000.7501.1.3.1.11.4
1995 Indiana 17013.1.359.000.7862.8.4.2.14.0
1997 Minnesota 3015.7.462.6252.3.3.3.35.7
1998 Minnesota 5535.4.448.214.8955.41.6.2.214.4
1999 Minnesota 4132.8.375.167.7503.51.5.3.510.0
2000 Minnesota 4017.0.500.4001.0001.8.5.0.35.8
2001 Minnesota 4012.5.200.0001.0001.8.8.3.01.5
2002 Minnesota 3211.5.3331.000.71.0.3.32.7
Career59814.5.398.207.8132.2.6.2.24.5

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Toronto 2004–05 823349.4024th in AtlanticMissed playoffs
Toronto 2005–06 822755.3294th in AtlanticMissed playoffs
Toronto 2006–07 824735.5731st in Atlantic624.333Lost in First Round
Toronto 2007–08 824141.5002nd in Atlantic514.200Lost in First Round
Toronto 2008–09 1789.471(fired)
Minnesota 2015–16 822953.3545th in NorthwestMissed playoffs
Career427185242.4331138.273

Personal life

Mitchell lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, Dawn Session-Mitchell. [11] Mitchell has four children from a previous marriage. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Hussey, Bo (May 26, 2004). "Bobcats Name Sam Mitchell Lead Assistant Coach". NBA.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  2. Feschuck, Dave, "Mitchell turns millstone into personal milestone", thestar.com, April 1, 2007, accessed April 1, 2007.
  3. "Sam Mitchell Named 2006-07 Coach of the Year". NBA.com. April 24, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. "NBA coach of the year Mitchell gets new contract". ESPN.com. May 23, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  5. Mitchell Fired, The Fan 590, December 3, 2008, accessed December 3, 2008.
  6. Dismissal of Sam Mitchell, TNT Overtime crew, Accessed March 11, 2009.
  7. "Wolves Name Sam Mitchell Assistant Coach". NBA.com. June 16, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  8. "Sam Mitchell to Serve as Timberwolves Interim Head Coach". NBA.com. September 11, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  9. "Minnesota Timberwolves Launch Search for Head Coach and Head of Basketball Operations". NBA.com. April 13, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  10. "Former NBA coach Sam Mitchell joins Memphis Tigers staff". ESPN.com. June 13, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  11. Atlanta, Obama and Mitchell, Toronto Sun, December 4, 2008, accessed December 4, 2008.