George Karl
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George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951 in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) player and current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. Karl is currently 12th on the all-time win list for coaches in the NBA. After a college career at the University of North Carolina he signed with the ABA's San Antonio Spurs in 1973. When the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, Karl began his two-year NBA playing career. After his playing career, Karl became an assistant coach for the Spurs. Karl then moved on to the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) as head coach of the Montana Golden Nuggets(Great Falls). As coach of the Golden Nuggets, Karl won CBA Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1983.
In 1984, Karl became the head coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers until he was fired in 1986. He later coached the Golden State Warriors where he would coach until 1988. After being fired from the Warriors, Karl returned to the CBA as coach of the Albany Patroons, winning the coach of the year award in 1991. Karl returned to the NBA as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics from 1991-1998, leading them to the NBA Finals in 1996 where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. In 1998, he moved to the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach. He was fired after the 2003 season.
He returned to the NBA in 2005 when he became head coach of the Nuggets taking over from interim head coach Michael Cooper on January 27.
He also spent 2 years in Spain coaching the Real Madrid basketball team in 1990 and 1991. Real Madrid went on to win the league championship led by an inspired Drazen Petrovic.
On July 27, the Nuggets announced that Karl had prostate cancer. He has enjoyed a resurrection of his career with the Denver Nuggets, guiding them to an unprecedented 32-8 record in the second half of the 2004-05 season.
Karl's son Coby is the starting point guard for Boise State University. Coby came out for the 2006 NBA Draft after a bout with thyroid cancer, but withdrew his name before the draft and returned to Boise State for his senior year.
On December 28, 2006, Karl became just the 12th coach in NBA history to reach the 800 win mark when his Denver Nuggets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 112-98.
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| Preceded by Tom Nissalke |
Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach 1984–1986 |
Succeeded by Gene Littles |
| Preceded by Johnny Bach |
Golden State Warriors Head Coach 1986–1988 |
Succeeded by Ed Gregory |
| Preceded by K. C. Jones |
Seattle SuperSonics Head Coach 1992–1998 |
Succeeded by Paul Westphal |
| Preceded by Chris Ford |
Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach 1998–2003 |
Succeeded by Terry Porter |
| Preceded by Michael Cooper |
Denver Nuggets Head Coach 2005– |
Succeeded by Current Coach |
Categories: 1951 births | Living people | American basketball coaches | American basketball players | Golden State Warriors coaches | Seattle SuperSonics coaches | Cleveland Cavaliers coaches | Real Madrid basketball coaches | Milwaukee Bucks coaches | Denver Nuggets coaches | ACB league managers | Sportspeople from Pittsburgh | San Antonio Spurs players | National Basketball Association broadcasters | North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players
