Adam Harrington (basketball)

Adam Harrington
Born	(1980-07-05) July 5, 1980 Massachusetts, United States
Occupation(s)	Basketball coach, former professional basketball player
Years active	1998–present
Known for	Former NBA player; assistant coach and director of player development for Brooklyn Nets; head coach of Phantom BC in Unrivaled league

Adam Philip Harrington (born July 5, 1980) is a former American professional basketball athlete who currently leads Phantom BC as head coach in the Unrivaled league. Prior to this role, he worked with the Brooklyn Nets in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as an assistant coach and director of player development. Harrington’s collegiate basketball journey included stints at Auburn University and North Carolina State University, followed by a professional playing career spanning the United States, Europe, and China.

He is also the initiator of the JEHH Memorial Fund.

High school career

Harrington’s basketball path began at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield, Massachusetts, where he competed on the varsity team starting in eighth grade. At age 13, he notably sank four three-pointers in the closing moments to propel his team into the Western Massachusetts Tournament Finals. Concluding his high school tenure, he amassed 2,347 points—the highest total for boys in Western Massachusetts history—and contributed to three sectional championship victories and two Massachusetts State Championship titles. His teams compiled an outstanding 96–7 record during his years there. Among his accolades were the 1998 Gatorade Massachusetts High School Basketball Player of the Year and USA Today Massachusetts Boys Basketball Player of the Year awards. He was selected as a Third-Team All American by Parade Magazine, ranked third nationally among high school shooting guards, and participated in both the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic and the Reebok Capital Classic. Additionally, he earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 1998 tournament held in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

College career

Following his remarkable high school achievements, Harrington committed to North Carolina State University under coach Herb Sendek. He began the 1998–1999 season coming off the bench but secured a starting position midway through, ultimately leading the team in scoring with an average of 11.6 points per game on a squad that went 19–14 and reached the NIT Tournament. This made him the first freshman in NC State history to top the scoring charts and earned him a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team. Harrington later transferred to Auburn University, coached by Cliff Ellis, where NCAA regulations required him to sit out the 1999–2000 season. During the 2000–2001 campaign, he appeared in 31 games with 22 starts, averaging 15.5 points and 2.4 assists per contest while receiving All-SEC Third Team recognition. His performance slightly declined in 2001–2002 before he declared for the NBA draft following his junior year.

Professional career

Although undrafted in the 2002 NBA Draft, Harrington participated in Summer League play with the Cleveland Cavaliers before signing as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks on October 1, 2002. He took part in 13 games for Dallas, averaging 0.8 points per game before being waived on January 7, 2003. Subsequently, he joined the Denver Nuggets on March 23 and appeared in six games with an average of 3.2 points per outing—his sole NBA appearances totaled 19 games accumulating career numbers of 30 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds.

Harrington’s last NBA appearance came on April 16, 2003, where he posted nine points, three rebounds, and three assists during an 84–89 defeat against the Houston Rockets.

In the following season (2003–2004), Harrington attended veteran camp with the Washington Wizards but was released prior to regular season play. He then signed with China’s Shaanxi Kylins, competing in six games before returning stateside to join the Columbus Riverdragons of the NBA Development League. Over two seasons with Columbus (2003–2005), he played a total of 52 games while averaging 11.2 points per game and ranking among league leaders in three-point shooting metrics.

For the 2005–2006 season, Harrington transitioned to European basketball: starting with Spain’s CB Gran Canaria, where he averaged 9.8 points across eight contests; moving on to Israel’s Bnei HaSharon, producing an impressive average of 18.6 points over twelve games; and concluding back in Spain with Cantabria Baloncesto, posting a 9.7-point average over three appearances.

During the next season (2006–2007), he suited up for Germany’s Brose Baskets, averaging 7.1 points across eleven games before transferring mid-season to Croatia’s Cedevita Zagreb, where he excelled by averaging 15.1 points over eleven matches.

Returning to America for the 2007–2008 campaign, Harrington signed with the NBA Development League’s Tulsa 66ers. Starting most of his 41 games, he led his team with sixteen points per game until a knee injury ended his season prematurely. Additionally, he captured victory in the league’s inaugural three-point shooting contest held during NBA All-Star weekend festivities.

In 2008–2009, Harrington joined France’s Limoges CSP Elite squad, averaging 13.6 points over thirteen contests before an ankle injury cut short his season; prior to this setback, he was averaging nearly eighteen and a half points per game.

For Springfield Armor’s inaugural season (2009–2010), Harrington signed through an NBA Development League contract—returning close to his hometown—and later departed to join Poland’s Kotwica Kołobrzeg, finishing their final ten games with an average output of 9.8 points per game.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2014–2015)

On September 29, 2014, Harrington was hired by the Oklahoma City Thunder to serve as their shooting coach.

Brooklyn Nets (2016–2022)

The Brooklyn Nets appointed Harrington as assistant coach and director of player development on July 5, 2016.

Unrivaled (2025–present)

Harrington was named one of the six head coaches in the Unrivaled basketball league on November 15, 2024.

NBA Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 13 || 0 || 2.8 || .235 || .333 || 1.000 || .2 || .2 || .1 || .1 || .8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 6 || 0 || 12.3 || .350 || .364 || .500 || 1.0 || 1.7 || .2 || - || 3.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 19 || 0 || 5.8 || .297 || .357 || .750 || .4 || .6 || .1 || .1 || 1.6

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99 | style="text-align:left;"| NC State | 32 || 21 || 24.6 || .370 || .359 || .785 || 2.0 || 1.6 || 1.2 || .3 || 11.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999–2000 | style="text-align:left;"| Auburn | style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"| Transfer |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01 | style="text-align:left;"| Auburn | 31 || 21 || 29.9 || .410 || .341 || .713 || 4.3 || 2.4 || 1.1 || .2 || 15.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2001–02 | style="text-align:left;"| Auburn | 28 || 15 || 25.8 || .456 || .351 || .696 || 3.5 || 1.5 || 1.2 || .2 || 10.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 91 || 57 || 26.8 || .391 || .350 || .731 || 3.3 || 1.8 || 1.2 || .2 || 12.5