Brown: You Can't Say No to Michael Jordan

No stranger to North Carolina basketball fans, Brown played collegiately at the University of North Carolina.

The Charlotte Bobcats today named Larry Brown as the third head coach in franchise history. Photo courtesy: New York Knicks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte Bobcats today named Larry Brown as the third head coach in franchise history.

Brown, who was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, brings 23 years of NBA head coaching experience to the Bobcats.

“Few coaches in this league carry the type of basketball resume that Larry Brown offers. He is one of the great coaches of our game and we are pleased to have him as part of our organization,” Bobcats Managing Member of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan said.

The fifth-winningest coach in NBA history with 1,010 career victories, Brown has led his teams to 17 playoff appearances, eight 50-win seasons, seven division titles, three conference championships and one NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2003-04. Brown also led the University of Kansas to an NCAA title in 1987-88, listing him as the only head coach ever to win both an NCAA title and an NBA Championship.

Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2000-01 after leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 56-26 regular-season record and a berth in the NBA Finals. He was also named ABA Coach of the Year three times – once with the Carolina Cougars (1972-73) and twice with the Denver Nuggets (1974-75, 1975-76) – in his four seasons in the league.

He began his career in 1972-73 in the ABA, where he coached Carolina for two seasons before taking the helm in Denver for two seasons. He continued with the Nuggets following their move to the NBA for the 1976-77 season, and he has since served as head coach of the New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. In addition, Brown spent seven seasons on the collegiate level, two at UCLA and five at Kansas.

Brown also served as head coach of the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and was an assistant coach for the 1980 team and for the 2000 team that won a Gold Medal in Sydney. Winning a Gold Medal as a player on the 1964 U.S. team, he is the only male basketball participant to both play and serve as head coach for the U.S. Olympic team.

No stranger to North Carolina basketball fans, Brown played collegiately at the University of North Carolina from 1959-63 and served as an assistant coach at UNC from 1965-67 before returning to the Carolinas to coach the Cougars from 1972-74.

“Having played and coached in North Carolina I understand the rich history of the sport in this state. I look forward to the opportunity to continue building the Charlotte Bobcats into a significant part of that tradition,” Brown said.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports