The LA Clippers announced today that Associate Head Coach Dan Craig and Assistant Coaches Kenny Atkinson, Chauncey Billups, Larry Drew and Roy Rogers have joined Head Coach Tyronn Lue to complete the team’s coaching staff for the 2020-21 NBA season. Cam Hodges, Shaun Fein, Dahntay Jones and Beau Levesque will also be joining the organization in coaching and player development roles. The Clippers have retained Assistant Coaches Jeremy Castleberry and Brendan O’Connor.
“We have assembled a strong and experienced group of coaches with diverse backgrounds and perspectives,” said Lue. “They will provide our players with every opportunity to improve individually and excel as a team. As coaches, their skillsets are different, but they are all great teachers with a passion for player development, who understand how to impart their knowledge. I couldn’t be more excited to get on the court with this group.”
Craig comes to L.A. following 17 seasons with the Miami Heat, which included four years as an assistant coach and one year as the head coach of Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Craig quickly rose through Miami’s coaching ranks after joining the franchise in 2003 as a video intern. Craig helped the Heat to six NBA Finals appearances, including three NBA Championships (2006, 2012, 2013). As head coach of the Skyforce in 2016, Craig led the team to its first G League title and was named G League Coach of the Year. The Chelmsford, Mass., native played collegiately at Plymouth State University.
Atkinson joins the Clippers after spending the last four seasons as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, leading the team to a postseason berth in 2018-19. Before the Nets, Atkinson spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks, helping the franchise to four Playoffs appearances, including an Eastern Conference Finals trip in 2015. He was also an assistant coach with the New York Knicks and the Director of Player Development for the Houston Rockets. A native of Northport, N.Y., Atkinson played professionally for 14 years in the United States Basketball League and overseas. He was a standout collegiate player at the University of Richmond and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
A familiar face to Clipper Nation, Billups joins the bench after working in television as an NBA analyst for ESPN, and a Clippers game analyst for Prime Ticket. A five-time NBA All-Star, 2004 NBA Finals Champion and Finals MVP, Billups spent 16 seasons in the league, averaging 15.2 points and 5.4 assists in 1,043 career appearances with the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Clippers. The Denver, Colo., native was named to three All-NBA teams (2006, 2007, 2009), two All-Defensive teams (2005, 2006) and had his jersey (#1) retired by the Pistons in 2016.
Drew joins the coaching staff with 28 seasons of experience as an NBA coach, most recently having spent six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, including one year as the team’s head coach in 2018-19. As a Cavs assistant coach, he helped lead the franchise to four straight NBA Finals appearances (2015-18) and an NBA Championship in 2016. Before Cleveland, Drew served as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks. In Atlanta, he compiled a 128-102 (.557) overall record and led the Hawks to the postseason in each of his three campaigns on the bench. Drew has also served as an assistant coach for the Hawks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers. The Kansas City, Mo., native played 10 seasons in the NBA, appearing in 714 games with the Pistons, Sacramento Kings, Clippers and Lakers.
Rogers comes to the Clippers with 12 years of experience as an NBA assistant coach, having spent the 2019-20 campaign with the Chicago Bulls. Before that, Rogers spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets, where he helped the team to four playoff series wins and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 2018. Rogers also served as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets. A former NBA player, Rogers appeared in 137 games with the Vancouver Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets.
Hodges begins his first season as a Clippers’ coaching associate, after spending the 2019-20 season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. Hodges also spent one season as an intern with the Erie Bayhawks, the then-G League affiliate of the Orlando Magic.
Fein enters his first season as a Clippers player development coach, after spending the last four years with the Brooklyn Nets, most recently serving as the head coach of the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. Throughout his time in Brooklyn, Fein worked in the Nets’ video department before becoming the team’s player development coordinator. Fein also spent two seasons with the Maine Red Claws, the Boston Celtics’ G League affiliate, as an assistant and player development coach.
Jones will serve as a player development and video coach for the Clippers. He was originally selected as the 20th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2003 NBA Draft and went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA, winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. The Trenton, N.J., native appeared in 624 contests, including 33 with the Clippers, and averaged 5.4 points and 1.7 rebounds over his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers.
Levesque joins the Clippers staff as a player development and video coach, following two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, most recently serving as the team’s assistant video coordinator/player development assistant. He previously worked as a graduate assistant for St. John’s University, where he helped with the team’s video operations, statistical analysis, and scouting reports.
In addition to Castleberry, in his second season with the Clippers, and O’Connor, in his seventh, a number of staffers are returning. Among them, Dan Fitzpatrick has been promoted to Head Video Coordinator and Conor Dunleavy has been elevated to Assistant Video Coordinator/Player Development.