Lionel Hollins
Lionel Hollins | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 19, 1953 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, coach |
| Years active | 1975–1986 (player), 1985–present (coach) |
| Known for | NBA player and coach, NBA champion (1977), NBA All-Star (1978) |
Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is a former professional basketball player and current coach from the United States, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing primarily as a point guard, Hollins competed for the Portland Trail Blazers, capturing an NBA championship in 1977 and earning a spot in the NBA All-Star game in 1978. The Trail Blazers honored him by retiring his No. 14 jersey.
Playing career
Over the span of his decade-long NBA tenure as a point guard, Hollins represented five different teams, posting averages of 11.6 points and 4.5 assists per contest. Despite sustaining permanent damage to his left pinky and ring finger from a moped accident in 1974, his performance remained unaffected.
Selected sixth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1975 NBA draft after playing at Arizona State University, Hollins earned recognition on the All-Rookie first team by averaging 10.8 points across 78 games. Prior to Arizona State, he spent two years competing at Dixie College. He completed his sociology degree in 1986.
Hollins was a key contributor to Portland’s championship-winning squad during the 1976–77 season, participated in the 1978 All-Star Game, and received NBA All-Defensive team honors twice (1978 and 1979). His jersey number 14 was officially retired by the Trail Blazers on April 18, 2007.
Coaching career
Following his playing days, Hollins transitioned into coaching, beginning as an assistant at Arizona State from 1985 to 1988 before joining the coaching staff of the Phoenix Suns under Cotton Fitzsimmons. In his inaugural season (1988–89), the Suns improved their win total by 27 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals; Fitzsimmons earned Coach of the Year accolades, while player Kevin Johnson credited Hollins for aiding his development.
Throughout seven seasons with Phoenix, Hollins contributed to teams that regularly surpassed 53 wins and achieved deep playoff runs, including a standout 62–20 record during the 1992–93 campaign under head coach Paul Westphal and league MVP Charles Barkley, culminating in an appearance in the NBA Finals.
In 1995, Hollins joined the coaching staff of expansion team Vancouver Grizzlies. He assumed interim head coaching duties in December 1999 but was not retained following that season. In 2000, he took on the head coach role for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the International Basketball League until their dissolution in March 2001.
Hollins briefly coached the Harlem Globetrotters in 2001 and led the USBL’s St. Louis SkyHawks in 2002. Returning to the Grizzlies organization as an assistant coach from 2002 to 2007 after their relocation to Memphis, he served a four-game stint as interim head coach in 2004. In May 2008, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach.
On January 25, 2009, Hollins was appointed head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies for his third tenure and first full-time role. After back-to-back seasons with records of 22–60, he reconstructed the team around a tough defensive identity known as "Grit and Grind." This included establishing starters like Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, as well as acquiring key players such as Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.
Hollins reached his milestone 100th coaching victory with Memphis on February 11, 2011. That year, the Grizzlies finished with a 46–36 record and became only the fourth eighth seed to eliminate a top-seeded team by defeating the San Antonio Spurs before falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
During the lockout-shortened season, Memphis achieved a franchise-best winning percentage of .621 (41–25) and secured home-court advantage for their first-round playoff series but were ousted by the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. Hollins earned Coach of the Month honors in April.
The subsequent season saw Memphis set a franchise record with 56 wins (.683 winning percentage). Defensive stalwart Marc Gasol received Defensive Player of the Year recognition as they limited opponents to an average of just 89.3 points per game. The Grizzlies overcame both the Clippers and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to reach their inaugural conference finals but were swept by San Antonio.
Despite guiding Memphis to three consecutive playoff appearances, their first playoff series victory, and franchise-best records, Hollins’ contract was not renewed after June 2013. As of 2024, Memphis has yet to return to the conference finals.
On July 2, 2014, Hollins inked a four-year deal to become head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and led them into postseason contention during his debut season. He was dismissed on January 10, 2016 following a sluggish start with a record of 10–27.
Hollins joined the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach on July 31, 2019, securing his second NBA championship when they defeated Miami Heat in six games during the 2020 NBA Finals.
On July 3, 2022, Hollins was appointed assistant coach for the Houston Rockets.
Personal life
Hollins has two sons with notable achievements. His son, Austin Hollins, played collegiate basketball at the University of Minnesota and later pursued a professional career in the EuroLeague.
His other son, Anthony, competed in Division III basketball representing the highly ranked Washington University in St. Louis Bears and has since become an orthopedic surgeon.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 74 || || 25.6 || .421 || – || .721 || 2.4 || 4.1 || 1.8 || .4 || 10.8 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|† | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 76 || || 29.3 || .432 || – || .749 || 2.8 || 4.1 || 2.2 || .5 || 14.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 81 || || 33.8 || .442 || – || .743 || 3.4 || 4.7 || 1.9 || .4 || 15.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 64 || || 30.7 || .454 || – || .778 || 2.3 || 5.1 || 1.8 || .4 || 15.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 20 || || 20.7 || .385 || .100 || .642 || 1.0 || 2.5 || 1.5 || .1 || 10.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 27 || || 29.5 || .415 || .200 || .770 || 2.6 || 4.1 || 1.7 || .3 || 12.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 82 || || 26.3 || .470 || .133 || .731||2.3||4.3||1.3||.2||9.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |81||81||27.9||.477||.125||.702||2.3||3.9||1.3||.2||11.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |
| style="text-align:left;" |San Diego |56||54||32.9||.437||.143||.721||2.3||6.7||2.0||.3||13.5 |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |Detroit |32||0||6.8||.381||.000||.846||0.7||1.9||0.4||0||1.8 |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |Houston |80||60||24.4||.461||.231||0.794||2.2||5.2||1.0||0.1||7.6
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |673||||27.4||0.444||0.149||0.741||2.4||4.5||1..6||0..3||11..6 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|All-Star |1||0||23|||0..375||||0..800|||0|||8|||2|||0|||10
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|1977† | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 19||—||35..9||..417||||..682|||2..7|||4..5|||2..5|||..3|||17..3 |-
| style="text-align:left;" |1978 | style="text-align:left;" |Portland |6|||—|||37..2|||.449|||..690|||4..8|||5..5|||1..2|||..0|||16..7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1979 | style="text-align:left;" |Portland |3|||—|||22..0|||..308|||..714|||1..0|||1..7|||1..0|||..0|||7..0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1980 | style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia |18|||—|||34..3|||..416|||..794|||3..9|||6..3|||1..5|||..2|||13..8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1981 | style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia |16|||—|||30..6|||..441|||..784|||2..1|||4..1|||1..1|||..1|||10..2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1982 | style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia |8|||—|||14..3|||..306|||..667|||1..1|||3..1|||1..1|||..1|||4..3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1984 | style="text-align:left;" |Detroit |2|||—|||3..0|||..000||||—||||—||||—||||—||||—||
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1985 | style="text-align:left;" |Houston |5|||1|||18..8|||..308||||1...000||||1...8||||3...6||||...8||||...0||||...34
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan=11 scope=row Career | 77 | — | 29…8 | …411 | …000 | …733 | …27 | …45 | …15 | …01 | …118
Head coaching record
See alsoExternal links |
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