Kevin Pritchard
Kevin Pritchard | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 18, 1967 |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball executive, former player, coach |
| Known for | President of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers; former general manager of Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers; former NBA player |
Kevin Lee Pritchard (born July 18, 1967) is a former basketball player and coach turned executive, currently holding the position of president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers. During his playing career, Pritchard spent four seasons competing in the NBA and has since occupied various front-office roles, including general manager for both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Indiana Pacers.
College career
Pritchard competed at the collegiate level with the Kansas Jayhawks, where he was the starting point guard in his sophomore season. He was a key member of the squad that secured the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament title by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the championship game.
Professional career
Selected as the 34th pick overall in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, Pritchard's professional playing tenure spanned six years and included time with five franchises: Golden State, the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and Washington Bullets. Notably, he was the inaugural signing for the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise in 1995 but was released before appearing in any games.
Between 1994 and 1996, Pritchard competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) with the Quad City Thunder, earning recognition as an All-CBA First Team member in 1995. His overseas career featured engagements with Caceres C.B. in Spain, Pfizer Reggio Calabria in Italy during the 1993–94 season, and Bayer Leverkusen in Germany for 1996–97. He concluded his playing career in 1998.
Early coaching and management career
Following a one-year hiatus from basketball, Pritchard transitioned into coaching and management by taking on dual roles as head coach and general manager of the Kansas City Knights in the ABA, guiding them to a championship victory in 2002. Subsequently, he joined the San Antonio Spurs organization as a scout under GM R.C. Buford before moving to the Portland Trail Blazers to serve as director of player personnel. In 2005, he briefly stepped into the role of interim head coach after Maurice Cheeks was dismissed.
Portland Trail Blazers
In 2006, following a reorganization within the franchise, Pritchard was elevated to assistant general manager. After Steve Patterson resigned in March 2007, Pritchard assumed the general manager position.
In December 2008, attempts by Portland to restrict other teams from signing Darius Miles were unsuccessful when Miles ultimately joined the Memphis Grizzlies. The following year, Pritchard enhanced the team's roster by acquiring seasoned players Andre Miller and Juwan Howard. Despite facing numerous injuries during the 2009–10 season, the team managed to secure 50 wins and advanced to the playoffs.
Pritchard was relieved of his GM duties on June 24, 2010, just prior to that year's NBA draft; however, he remained involved temporarily to finalize trades and draft selections. His dismissal came amid earlier shifts within team leadership and was publicly acknowledged amidst media speculation. Team President Larry Miller did not disclose specific reasons for this decision. In response, Pritchard issued a public letter thanking owner Paul Allen and expressing appreciation toward the organization’s supporters.
Indiana Pacers
Pritchard joined the Indiana Pacers in July 2011 as director of player personnel. He earned a promotion to general manager in June 2012, taking over from David Morway. On May 1, 2017, after Larry Bird stepped down from his role, Pritchard advanced to president of basketball operations while continuing his responsibilities as general manager.
Head coaching record
|- | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | style="text-align:left;"| |27||5||22|||| style="text-align:center;"|4th place in Northwest Division||—||—||—||— | style="text-align:center;"|Did Not Qualify for Playoffs |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"|Overall | ||27||5||22|||| ||—||—||—||—
External links
- NBA statistics at basketballreference.com