Steve Clifford

American basketball coach From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Clifford

Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who serves as a front office advisor for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Hornets and the Orlando Magic.

Quick Facts Charlotte Hornets, Position ...
Steve Clifford
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Clifford in 2020
Charlotte Hornets
PositionFront office advisor/executive
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 63)
Island Falls, Maine, U.S.
Career information
High schoolNorth Country Union
(Newport, Vermont)
CollegeMaine–Farmington (1979–1983)
Coaching career1983–2024
Career history
As coach:
1983–1985Woodland HS
1985–1989Saint Anselm (assistant)
1989–1990Fairfield (assistant)
1990–1994Boston University (assistant)
1994–1995Siena (assistant)
1995–1999Adelphi
1999–2000East Carolina (assistant)
20012003New York Knicks (assistant)
20032007Houston Rockets (assistant)
20072012Orlando Magic (assistant)
2012–2013Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
20132018Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
20182021Orlando Magic
20222024Charlotte Hornets
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

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Early life

Born in Island Falls, Maine, Clifford grew up in Mattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved to Vermont.[1] He played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont.[2][3]

Clifford attended the University of Maine at Farmington, where he played college basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, he was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He graduated with a degree in special education.[4]

Coaching career

Summarize
Perspective

After graduating from college, Clifford became a teacher at Woodland High School in Maine. He also gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as their head coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments.[2][5] He then served as an assistant coach at St. Anselm College, Fairfield University, Boston University and Siena College. In 1995, he assumed the head coaching duties at Adelphi University and coached for four seasons leading his team to four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, an 86–36 (.705) record and four consecutive 20-win seasons. He was the first coach in the school's history with back-to-back 20-plus win seasons.[5]

Clifford became an NBA assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets under Jeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. He then was an assistant for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic.[2] He considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors.[6] He reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the NBA Finals in 2009.

Clifford then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012–13 as an assistant.[7]

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets

On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to be their head coach.[8]

Clifford implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning the Charlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the NBA in that category. He led the Bobcats to the 2014 NBA playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43–39 record. The two years prior to him joining the Bobcats only had a combined total of 28 wins. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7–1 record leading to the playoffs. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting in his first year. On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Clifford would not coach indefinitely to deal with his health issue.[9][10] On January 11, 2018, the Hornets announced that Clifford was medically cleared to return to coaching[11] after a 21-game absence after dealing with sleep deprivation.[12] After the 2017–18 regular season, he was fired as head coach on April 13, 2018, after five seasons coaching the team to a 196–214 record total.[13]

Orlando Magic

On May 30, 2018, Clifford was named the head coach of the Orlando Magic.[14]

The Magic started the 2018–19 season by splitting their first 24 games before falling 11 games under .500 after a 126–117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[15] Despite the dismal start, Clifford led the Magic on a dramatic turnaround. On April 7, 2019, Orlando defeated the Boston Celtics 116–108 to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2011–12 season.[16] The win also clinched the Magic's first Southeast Division title since the 2009–10 season. This was the Magic's first playoff appearance since trading Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012,[17] ending the longest playoff drought in franchise history.[18]

On June 5, 2021, Clifford and the Magic decided to part ways.[19]

Charlotte Hornets (second stint)

After the 2021–22 NBA season concluded, the Hornets re-hired Clifford as their head coach on June 24, 2022.[20]

On April 3, 2024, the Hornets announced that Clifford would step down as head coach at the end of the 2023-24 season and move into a front-office advisory role.[21]

Head coaching record

College

More information Season, Team ...
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Adelphi Panthers (New York Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1995–1999)
1995–96 Adelphi 23–717–52ndNCAA D-II First Round
1996–97 Adelphi 21–917–53rdNCAA D-II First Round
1997–98 Adelphi 22–818–43rdNCAA D-II First Round
1998–99 Adelphi 20–1214–83rdNCAA D-II Sweet 16
Adelphi University: 86–36 (.705)66–22
Total:86–36 (.705)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
More information Team, Year ...
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Charlotte 2013–14 824339.5243rd in Southeast404.000 Lost in First round
Charlotte 2014–15 823349.4024th in Southeast Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2015–16 824834.5853rd in Southeast734.429 Lost in First round
Charlotte 2016–17 823646.4394th in Southeast Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2017–18 823646.4393rd in Southeast Missed playoffs
Orlando 2018–19 824240.5121st in Southeast514.200 Lost in First round
Orlando 2019–20 733340.4522nd in Southeast514.200 Lost in First round
Orlando 2020–21 722151.2925th in Southeast Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2022–23 822755.3295th in Southeast Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2023–24 822161.2564th in Southeast Missed playoffs
Career801340461.42421516.238
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See also

References

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