131. Jerry Sloan  |
Most fans know Jerry Sloan as the longest tenured coach in the NBA, having been on the bench for the Utah Jazz since 1988, but what many have forgotten is that Sloan was also a tenacious defense and a fantastic player before becoming a coach.
Sloan originally committed to the University of Illinois but before ever playing a game quit school and moved back to his hometown of McLeansboro. He than enrolled at nearby Evansville University. While at Evansville he twice lead them to the NCAA II tournament and was named to the All-American Second team.
After two years at Evansville Sloan entered the NBA draft. He was selected by the Baltimore Bullets as the 4th overall pick in 1965. He played just one season with the Bullets averaging just 5 points and 4 rebounds.
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In 1966 the NBA expanded and the Bullets did not protect Sloan’s rights. The Chicago Bulls used the first ever expansion pick on Sloan. Sloan would go on to star for the Bulls.
In his first season with the Bulls Sloan’s numbers skyrocketed. His points per game jumped to 17, his rebounds to 9 and he was the first ever Chicago Bulls player ever to be selected to the NBA all-star game. He also helped the Bulls become the only NBA expansion team to ever reach the NBA playoffs.
The following season Sloan and the Bulls struggled, Sloan’s points dropped to 13 a game. But both bounced back in his third year. His points rose back to 17 a game and he was once again named an all-star.
In 68-69 Sloan was named first team all defense in the inaugural all-defensive team. He would be named to a total of six all-defensive teams in his career and become recognized as one of the greatest defenders of his era.
The Bulls enjoyed a lot of success in their early years which is rare for an expansion team. Besides making the playoffs their first year, they also made the post-season in 8 of the 10 seasons Sloan played for them, and 9 times out of their first 11 seasons. In 1975 the Bulls won the central division title, this is the only division title the team has won outside of the Michael Jordan era.
In 74 and 75 the team made the western conference finals. In 74 they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks and in 75 it looked like the team would finally make the finals. The Bulls lead 3 games to 2 over the Golden State Warriors, but the Warriors won the next two games and would go on to win the title becoming one of the most unlikely NBA champions ever.
Towards the end of his career Sloan was having knee problems. In 75-76 he played just 22 games before finally retiring as a player. When he retired he had career averages of 14 points, 2.2 steals and 7.4 rebounds per game. The 7 rebounds is unusually high for a guard and the 2.2 steals per game ranks him 10th all-time in steals per game.
Sloan joined the Evansville basketball team as a coach but resigned after 5 days; later that season the entire team was killed in an airplane crash. During his speech when he was inducted to the Hall-of-Fame it seemed like this event still bothers Sloan. Sloan than became a scout for the Bulls and after one season was named an assistant coach. After two seasons as an assistant coach he was named head coach. He lasted two and a half seasons as head coach of the Bulls, having one playoff appearance to his credit. He was fired half way through the 81-82 season.
Following being fired from the Bulls Sloan became a scout for the Utah Jazz but lasted only one season. He than took the reigns of the Evansville Thunder of the CBA for a season before rejoining the Jazz as an assistant. He served as an assistant to Frank Layden from 84 until 88 when Layden resigned. Sloan was nearly fired by the Jazz after the 88-89 season when the team was the second seed but got swept by the Golden State Warriors. The Jazz elected to keep Sloan who now enters his 23rd year as head coach of the Utah Jazz. He has guided the Jazz to six division titles, six western conference finals appearances and over 1,000 wins. The 1,000 wins is the record for most coaching victories with one franchise. In 2009 he and long-time point guard where both inducted into the NBA hall-of-fame together.
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