Three days after earning milestone coaching victory No. 1,156 – eclipsing Phil Jackson for sole possession of fifth place on the League’s all-time wins list – Kings Head Coach George Karl shifts in his wooden chair, rubs his hand over his chin and pauses as he scans through nearly three decades of play calls, heroic finishes and euphoric celebrations.
The landmark accomplishment serves as the crowning achievement for the two-time CBA and 2013 NBA Coach of the Year, who played under the legendary Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina and spent five seasons as a player with the Spurs, prior to commencing his career on the sidelines as a San Antonio assistant.
Beaming with pride and flashing a warm smile, Karl recounts some of the most memorable wins from his 27 seasons, from being lifted in the air by his players after securing an improbable Playoff berth to a grueling seven-game series that culminated in his first NBA Finals appearance.
Cavaliers 114, Nets 100 – April 9, 1985
Despite losing 19 of 21 games to begin his illustrious head-coaching career in 1984-85, Karl guided the Cavaliers to a 34-27 finish and the fourth-best post-All-Star break record in the League, clinching the franchise’s first Playoff berth in seven years with a blowout victory over the Nets in the season finale.
After the final buzzer sounded, his players – including All-Star World B. Free and starting center Roy Hinson – hoisted the triumphant coach on their shoulders and carried him off the court, as the capacity crowd of 10,185 gave the team a standing ovation.
“It was my rookie season coaching in the NBA, so it was a pretty powerful moment,” recalls Karl. “That year has a lot of good memories to it, and of course, being picked up by players and being put on their shoulders, I haven’t seen that in an NBA game ever – and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it since.”
Three weeks later – following a hard-fought battle with the defending NBA-champion Boston Celtics in the second round – Cleveland Mayor George V. Voinovich presented Karl with a key to the city.
Warriors 129, Lakers 121 – May 10, 1987
In what’s since been deemed simply as ‘The Sleepy Floyd Game,’ the 6-foot-3 guard stunned Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the imposing Showtime Lakers, setting still-standing NBA records for points in a quarter (29) and half (39) en route to nearly single-handedly carrying the underdog Warriors past the defending NBA champions in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
“I kept telling the guys, ‘I’m going to call plays, but just get out of Sleepy’s way and let him go,’” says Karl. “He had one of those days where no one could cover him, and it gave us a good win.”
L.A – which had previously gone undefeated in the postseason – had no answer for Floyd, who brought Golden State back from a 98-83 third-quarter deficit, scoring 26 of his team’s 28 points during a single eight-minute stretch on a dazzling array of scoop shots, in-traffic floaters and off-balance fadeaways to finish with 51 points in the instant classic.
“The Lakers were world champs and we were playing the best team in basketball, probably,” adds Karl. “Anytime you beat them and do it with a historical moment, it’s always fun to be a part of that.”