When Terry Porter was on a San Antonio golf course with Spurs teammate and friend Steve Kerr in 1999, he had no way of knowing Kerr would someday give him the reins of one of the NBA’s most successful franchises. That was the case on June 9, 2008, when Terry Porter was named the 13th head coach in Phoenix Suns history by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.

Porter’s 22-year NBA tenure as a player and coach includes a staggering 20 playoff appearances, including two trips to the NBA Finals (1990, ‘92), six appearances in the conference finals (1990, ‘91, ‘92, 2001, ‘07, ‘08) and eight division championships (1991, ‘92, ‘99, 2001, ‘02, ‘03, ‘07, ‘08). The former guard’s career spans two seasons as a head coach (Milwaukee), three as an assistant coach (Sacramento, Detroit) and 17 as a player in the NBA (Portland, Minnesota, Miami, San Antonio). It includes experience under some of the most respected coaches in league history: Jack Ramsay (1985-86), Rick Adelman (1989-94, 2002-03), Flip Saunders (1995-98, 2006-08), Pat Riley (1998-99) and Gregg Popovich (1999-2002).

Porter is at the helm of his second NBA team after serving as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. In his rookie campaign, Porter’s Bucks were the highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference (fourth-highest in the NBA) while committing the East’s fewest turnovers. Milwaukee earned a playoff berth that season before being defeated by the eventual NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. The loss of starting point guard T.J. Ford for the entire 2004-05 season limited the club to a 30-52 record the following year. In two seasons with the Bucks, Porter’s clubs went a combined 71-93 and were an impressive 50-32 at home.

Porter’s wide-ranging basketball expertise is evident on both sides of the floor. As a player, his teams in Portland (1985-95) and Minnesota (1995-98) ranked in the top four in scoring offense in nine of his first 13 NBA seasons, including a league-best 117.9-point average in 1986-87 with the Trail Blazers. His last four seasons were spent in Miami (1998-99) and San Antonio (1999-2002) with clubs that each finished in the top three in scoring defense. As an assistant coach with Sacramento in 2002-03, the Kings finished third in the NBA in scoring offense. Porter will now guide the Suns after serving the last two seasons (2006-08) as an assistant with Detroit, who ranked in the top two in scoring defense both campaigns, and allowed a league-low 90.1 points in 2007-08.

The Milwaukee native is a two-time NBA All-Star (1991, ‘93) and won the 1993 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, an honor also earned by current guard Steve Nash (2006-07). In 17 NBA seasons as a player, Porter was never traded. He established career averages of 12.2 points and 5.6 assists in 1,274 games after originally being selected with the 24th overall pick of the 1985 NBA Draft by Portland. The 6-3 guard retired following the 2002 season with 7,160 career assists, 11th-most in NBA history, including 5,319 assists as a member of the Trail Blazers, which still stands as a franchise record. Porter also still holds the NBA Finals record for most free-throws made in a single game without a miss (15; June 7, 1990).

The youngest of six children, Porter received his degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In 1999, he was given the university’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Porter and wife Suzie have three children: Brianna, Franklin and Malcolm.