Brian Winters
Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1952 Rockaway, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Archbishop Molloy (Queens, New York) |
| College | South Carolina (1971–1974) |
| NBA draft | 1974 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th overall |
| Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Playing career | 1974–1983 |
| Position | Shooting guard / Point guard |
| Number | 20, 32 |
| Coaching career | 1984–2013 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1974–1975 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1975–1983 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| As coach: | |
| 1984–1986 | Princeton (assistant) |
| 1986–1993 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
| 1993–1995 | Atlanta Hawks (assistant) |
| 1995–1997 | Vancouver Grizzlies |
| 1997–1998 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| 1999–2002 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2001–2002 | Golden State Warriors (interim) |
| 2004–2007 | Indiana Fever |
| 2012–2013 | Charlotte Bobcats (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 10,537 (16.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,688 (2.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,674 (4.1 apg) |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Career
Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegiately with the University of South Carolina and was the 12th pick in the 1974 NBA Draft, taken by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Winters made the NBA All-Rookie Team with the Lakers before he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the deal that brought future Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the West Coast. He had a productive nine-year career that included two appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and six in the playoffs. Winters averaged 16.2 points and 4.1 assists over his career, with his best years coming from 1975-76 to 1979-80, when he averaged 18.7 points. 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. His game declined in the 1982-83 season, however, when he shot a career-worst 43 percent in the field, after which he retired at 31 years of age. The Bucks organization retired his number 32 on Oct. 28, 1983.[1]
In a 2005 interview, Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan singled out Winters as the best "pure shooter" in history, claiming that "he had the most beautiful stroke of all the people whom [he could] think of."[2]
After retiring from the NBA, Winters became an assistant coach for two years under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton. From there, he moved on to become an assistant coach under Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 7 years and Atlanta Hawks for two more. Next he was the inaugural coach for the Vancouver Grizzlies for a year and a half. Later Winters coached with the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors. He was formerly the head coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever, leading them to their first ever consecutive-year playoff appearances.
On October 26, 2007, Winters option wasn't picked up by the Indiana Fever, ending his four-year tenure with the club.[3] He compiled a 78–58 record in the regular season to go with a 5–7 playoff record. He was a scout for the Indiana Pacers for several seasons until he was let go during the NBA lockout in August 2011.[4] He spent the 2012–13 season as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats.[5]
Head coaching record
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 1995–96 | 82 | 15 | 67 | .183 | 7th in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Vancouver | 1996–97 | 43 | 8 | 35 | .186 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Golden State | 2001–02 | 59 | 13 | 46 | .220 | 7th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 184 | 36 | 148 | .196 | — | — | — | — |
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | L.A. Lakers | 68 | – | 22.3 | .443 | – | .826 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 11.7 |
| 1975–76 | Milwaukee | 78 | – | 35.8 | .464 | – | .829 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 18.2 |
| 1976–77 | Milwaukee | 78 | – | 34.8 | .498 | – | .847 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 19.3 |
| 1977–78 | Milwaukee | 80 | – | 34.4 | .463 | – | .840 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 19.9 |
| 1978–79 | Milwaukee | 79 | – | 32.6 | .493 | – | .856 | 2.2 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 19.8 |
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 80 | – | 32.8 | .479 | .373 | .860 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 16.2 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 69 | – | 25.7 | .475 | .353 | .869 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 11.6 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 61 | 13 | 30.0 | .501 | .387 | .788 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 15.9 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 57 | 12 | 23.9 | .434 | .324 | .859 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 10.6 |
| Career | 650 | 25 | 30.7 | .475 | .363 | .842 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 16.2 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 1 | 15.0 | .417 | – | – | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Milwaukee | 3 | – | 42.0 | .629 | – | .800 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 27.3 |
| 1978 | Milwaukee | 9 | – | 33.9 | .497 | – | .741 | 3.3 | 6.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 20.4 |
| 1980 | Milwaukee | 7 | – | 38.3 | .460 | .429 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 15.9 |
| 1981 | Milwaukee | 7 | – | 25.9 | .459 | .333 | .750 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 10.0 |
| 1982 | Milwaukee | 6 | – | 38.7 | .494 | .500 | .833 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 16.8 |
| 1983 | Milwaukee | 9 | – | 26.7 | .429 | .273 | .824 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 9.9 |
| Career | 41 | – | 33.0 | .490 | .396 | .808 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 15.5 | |
References
- "Archived Document". Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- Jordan, Michael (August 2005). "One-on-One with Michael Jordan". Cigar Aficionado (Interview). Interviewed by Marvin R. Shanken. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- "Fever declines option on Winters contract". wnba.com, October 26, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- Pacers cut 3 scouts
- Charlotte Bobcats Name Assistant Coaches Archived August 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine