The Golden State Warriors have hired John MacLeod as an assistant coach, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. MacLeod joins Mario Elie, Keith Smart and Russell Turner on Head Coach Mike Montgomery’s staff.
MacLeod arrives in Oakland with a wealth of basketball coaching experience as both a head coach and as an assistant, including over 20 years in the NBA. Having begun his NBA coaching career with the Phoenix Suns in 1973, MacLeod ranks 15th on the all-time NBA coaching win list with 707 career victories. In 18 seasons as an NBA head coach, he posted a 707-657 (.518) record.
“We’re extremely pleased and fortunate to add someone the caliber of John MacLeod to our coaching staff,” said Mullin. “His impressive resume speaks for itself in terms of his success in the NBA and the experience he has gained in this league. We think he’ll make a wonderful addition to our organization and team.”
Prior to joining the Warriors, MacLeod served as associate head coach for the Denver Nuggets during the 2003-04 season, when he helped guide the Nuggets to one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history; Denver won 26 more games than the previous season and ended a eight-year playoff drought. MacLeod had originally joined the Nuggets staff as a basketball consultant in September of 2001 and moved to the bench as one of Denver’s assistant coaches in December of that same year. Before joining the Nuggets, he served as a special assistant coach for Phoenix from 1999-01.
From 1991-99, MacLeod was the head coach at the University of Notre Dame, where he coached Warriors forward Troy Murphy for one season (1998-99). While at Notre Dame, he compiled a 112-126 (.471) record and earned Big East Coach of the Year honors in 1996-97.
Before taking over at Notre Dame, MacLeod replaced Stu Jackson as the New York Knicks head coach 15 games into the 1990-91 campaign and led the Knicks to a playoff berth after posting a 32-35 record. It was a return to the NBA bench for MacLeod who had previously coached the Dallas Mavericks from 1987-89, where he posted a 96-79 (.549) record. During the 1987-88 season, he guided the Mavericks to a 52-39 record and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, where they lost in seven games to the eventual NBA Champion L.A. Lakers.
MacLeod’s first NBA job came as head coach of the Suns in 1973, a title he held until 1987. While with the Suns, he posted a 579-543 (.516) record, led the club to the postseason nine times and remains the franchise’s all-time winningest coach. In 1976, he guided Phoenix to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. He also led the Suns to two additional appearances in the Western Conference Finals in 1979 and 1984, falling in seven and six games, respectively.
A native of Clarksville, Indiana, MacLeod served as head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967-73 and compiled a 90-69 (.566) record. He began his coaching career in 1959 as an assistant coach at DeSales High School in Kentucky before becoming the head coach at Smithville High School in Indiana and then serving assistant positions at Cathedral High School in Indiana and at Oklahoma.