College - North Carolina
When Joe Dumars hired John Kuester as the 27th head coach in franchise history on July 9, 2009, he knew that he was hiring a highly regarded coach that has worked for a number of different NBA franchises and coached some of the top players in the game. Kuester has coached 2009 NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, 2001 NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson and NBA All-Stars Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Dikembe Mutombo, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace throughout his travels. In addition, 10 of the last 11 teams he has been associated with have made the NBA Playoffs.

While his coaching experiences have brought impressive results, what stood out most for Dumars was the fact that during the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship season, Kuester was a coach that consistently had the attention of each player on the roster.

“John brings a wealth of NBA knowledge as a long-time assistant coach, including championship experience as an assistant coach with our club in 2004,” states Dumars. “He is a coach that our veteran players know well and I feel that he has the teaching ability to allow our younger players to grow and develop.”

Kuester, 54, has spent over 14 years in the NBA as an assistant coach with six different franchises (Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey, Orlando and Cleveland). During his tenure as an assistant coach, Kuester has helped guide two teams to the NBA Finals [Philadelphia (2001); Detroit (2004)] and played a major role in helping Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

For seven seasons (1990-1997), the Richmond, Virginia native was a member of the Boston Celtics organization, serving as assistant coach his final two years. He joined Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown in 1997 and helped guide the Philadelphia 76ers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the club, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2001. The North Carolina graduate followed Brown to Detroit where the organization won its third NBA Championship, and then joined the New Jersey Nets staff in 2004-05. Kuester returned to Philadelphia for the 2005-06 season, landed in Orlando in 2006-07 and has helped mold the offensive philosophies for the Cleveland Cavaliers since August of 2007.

Prior to joining the NBA ranks, Kuester served five seasons as head coach at George Washington University from 1985-1990. He became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball in 1983 when he succeeded Rick Pitino at Boston University. He was an assistant coach for the Terriers for two seasons prior to his head coaching appointment.

As a collegiate player for four seasons at North Carolina (1973- 77) under legendary coach Dean Smith, he helped the Tar Heels win two ACC Championships, make three NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT berth. As a senior, he was voted as the team’s best defensive player for the second straight season and was named Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regionals. That 1977 squad went on to the NCAA Final Four and an appearance in the championship game.

Kuester was selected in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played three seasons in the NBA, one each with Kansas City, Denver and Indiana.

Kuester resides in Oakland Township with his wife, Tricia and has two children, John and Katie. John is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, while Katie, currently a junior at St. Joe’s, is a member of the women’s basketball team.