Eddie Jordan (basketball)

Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan
Born	January 29, 1955 (age 71); Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball player, coach
Years active	1977–2016 (player and coach)
Known for	Head coach of Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings; Rutgers University men's basketball coach; NBA player

Edward Montgomery Jordan (born January 29, 1955) is a former American professional basketball player and coach. He held head coaching positions with the Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, and Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and also led the men's basketball program at Rutgers University for three seasons.

College career

From 1973 to 1977, Jordan attended Rutgers University as a physical education major, though he did not complete his degree. He played a pivotal role in guiding Rutgers to the 1976 NCAA Final Four, where he earned MVP honors for the East Regional. Nicknamed "Fast Eddie," Jordan established Rutgers' all-time records for assists (585) and steals (220), and received honorable mention All-America recognition during his senior year.

Early NBA career

Selected 33rd overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1977 NBA draft, Jordan was traded to the New Jersey Nets partway through his rookie season. He led the NBA in total steals with 201 in the 1978–79 campaign and placed second with 223 steals in the following 1979–80 season.

Later NBA career

Between 1980 and 1984, Jordan played for the Los Angeles Lakers, contributing to their victory in the 1982 NBA Championship. His playing career concluded with a short tenure at the Portland Trail Blazers. Over seven seasons, he averaged 8.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.82 steals per game.

NCAA

Following his retirement in 1984, Jordan began as a volunteer assistant coach at Rutgers University under Tom Young. He then accompanied Young to Old Dominion University as a part-time assistant before joining Jim O'Brien’s staff at Boston College in 1986. In 1988, Jordan returned to Rutgers to serve as an assistant coach.

Kings

Jordan joined the coaching staff of the Sacramento Kings as an assistant in 1992, remaining for five seasons. He was elevated to head coach on March 20, 1997, completing the remainder of the 1996–97 NBA season and leading through the 1997–98 NBA season. His tenure ended with a 33–64 record when he was dismissed after that season.

Nets

On March 17, 1999, Jordan became lead assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets, a role he held for four years. During this period, he helped guide the team to back-to-back Atlantic Division titles and Eastern Conference Championships in both 2002 and 2003.

2003–06

In 2003, Jordan accepted a four-year head coaching contract with the Washington Wizards, earning over $3 million annually. His inaugural season concluded with a disappointing 25–57 record. However, he engineered a significant turnaround in year two, improving by 20 wins to finish at 45–37—the franchise’s best performance since 1978–79—and secured Washington’s first playoff appearance since the 1996–97 season. The Wizards advanced past the postseason opening round for the first time since 1982 by overcoming a 0–2 deficit to defeat the fourth-seeded Chicago Bulls. On April 11, 2005, Jordan achieved his milestone 100th victory as an NBA head coach.

2006–07

During the 2006–07 NBA season, Jordan successfully led Washington to its third straight postseason appearance, a feat not achieved since 1988. His efforts earned him the Coach of the Month award in December, following an impressive 12–4 run. Additionally, he was selected to coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars at the NBA All-Star Game held in Las Vegas, marking the franchise’s first All-Star coaching role since Dick Motta's tenure in 1978–79.

2007–08

Despite beginning the season with an 0–5 record, Jordan steered the Wizards to their fourth consecutive playoff appearance. However, for the third year running, the team was ousted in the opening round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On November 24, 2008, Jordan was relieved of his coaching duties after a disappointing 1–10 start. At that point, he was the longest-serving coach in the Eastern Conference and had guided Washington to four straight playoff qualifications with one series victory. His overall regular-season coaching record was 197–224, placing him third in franchise history for total wins.

2009–2010

On June 1, 2009, Jordan was appointed head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. After completing one season, he was dismissed on April 15, 2010. Later that month, although considered a top contender for the Rutgers head coaching job, Jordan withdrew his name to continue pursuing opportunities within the NBA.

Lakers

In 2012, Jordan joined the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach, primarily supporting head coach Mike Brown in implementing the Princeton offense system.

Rutgers

Rutgers announced Jordan as their new head coach on April 18, 2013, succeeding Mike Rice. He officially became the men's basketball program’s 18th head coach on April 23, 2013.

Throughout his three years leading Rutgers—including their transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Big Ten Conference—Jordan’s teams faced significant challenges, concluding each season with at least twenty losses. The 2015–16 campaign was particularly difficult; his squads compiled a combined record of 29–68 overall and 8–46 in conference play. A late-season victory prevented a winless Big Ten slate and ended a lengthy 32-game conference losing streak. Following a first-round tournament defeat, Jordan was dismissed on March 10, 2016.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 22 || || 7.8 || .339 || || .750 || .5 || 1.5 || .2 || .0 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 51 || || 20.4 || .407 || || .788 || 2.1 || 2.8 || 2.2 || .4 || 10.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | style="background:#cfecec;"|82* || || 27.6 || .418 || || .777 || 2.6 || 4.5 || 2.5 || .5 || 12.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 82 || 82 || 32.4 || .430 || .250 || .779 || 3.3 || 6.8 || 2.7 || .3 || 13.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 14 || || 17.1 || .411 || .300 || .750 || 1.3 || 3.3 || 1.7 || .1 || 6.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 60 || || 16.5 || .430 || .250 || .663 || 1.3 || 3.3 || 1.2 || .1 || 5.1 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|† | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 58 || 0 || 10.5 || .428 || .111 || .796|| .7||2.3||1.1|| .0||3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers |35||0||9.5|| .303|| .188|| .647|| .7||2.3|| .9|| .0||2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Portland |13||0||14.1|| .317|| .000|| .700||1.0||3.0||1.6|| .0||2.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" |L.A. Lakers |3||0||9.0|| .500|| –|| .500||1.3||1.7||1.3|| .0||3.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |420||82||20.3||.414||.224||.763||1.9||3.8||1.8||.2||8.1

Playoff Performance

Season	Franchise	Games Played	Minutes Per Game	Field Goal %	Three-Point %	Free Throw %	Rebounds Per Game	Assists Per Game	Steals Per Game	Blocks Per Game	Points Per Game
1979	New Jersey Nets	2	41.5	.395		.889	7.5	8.5	4.0	1.5	19.0
1981	Los Angeles Lakers	2	2.0				0	0	0	0
1982†	Los Angeles Lakers	3	2.0	0	0		0	1.7	0	0
Overall Career Totals		7	13.3	.375	.000	.889	2.1	3.3	1.4	0.4	7.7

NBA

Season	G	W	L	Win %	Division Standing	Playoff G	Playoff W	Playoff L	Playoff Win %	Result
Sacramento Kings	15	6	9	.400	6th in Pacific Division	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Sacramento Kings	82	27	55	.329	5th in Pacific Division	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Washington Wizards	82	25	57	.305	6th in Atlantic Division	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Washington Wizards	82	45	37	.549	2nd in Southeast Division	10	4	6	.400	Eliminated in Conference Semifinals
Washington Wizards	82	42	40	.512	2nd in Southeast Division	6	2	4	.333	Exited in First Round
Washington Wizards	82	41	41	.500	2nd in Southeast Division	4	0	4	.000	Lost in First Round
Washington Wizards	82	43	39	.524	2nd in Southeast Division	6	2	4	.333	Defeated in First Round
Washington Wizards	11	1	10	.091	(fired)	—	—	—	—
Philadelphia 76ers	82	27	55	.329	4th in Atlantic Division	—	—	—	—
Career Totals	600	257	343	.428		26	8	18	.308

External links