Phil Jackson

Shahbaz Khan

On Tuesday morning at the team’s Experience Center on the corner of 7th and J Street in downtown Sacramento, Dave Joerger was introduced as the team's newest head coach by Kings VP of Basketball Operations and GM Vlade Divac. “It was not a long process for us, it was a bang-bang deal,” joked Joerger, who added that both sides came to a quick decision because of the “great fit professionally and personally.”

Growing up in a town of just under 3,000 people, the Staples, Minn. native is accustomed to smaller markets with passionate fanbases – spending the first seven years of his professional career coaching teams in North Dakota and South Dakota within the International Basketball Association, Continental Basketball Association and NBA D-League. It’s the fond remembrance of those times that drew Joerger to the vacancy in Sactown, “that is what we’re looking at here, it’s a very passionate [fanbase] and I’ve seen it from the outside.”

Meanwhile, Joerger’s own passion for coaching and the game of basketball stemmed from following the career of another notable Minnesota coach, the late Flip Saunders. Joerger cited Saunders as an influential part of his desire to coach, as Saunders similarly moved up the ranks from the minor leagues to the NBA. In seven years in the CBA, Saunders recorded seven consecutive seasons of 30 or more victories, two titles and two CBA Coach of the Year honors, while Joerger tallied three championships and two Coach of the Year honors in the same league.

"Coming from the minor leagues, you wanted to be like those guys. I always wanted to be like Flip Saunders. He gets credit for building great offensive schemes, but really, he was just a great basketball coach and mind.”

At the age of 23, Joerger’s journey into coaching began as an assistant with the Dakota Wizards. The role proved to be immensely helpful for for the young coach, as he learned directly from Duane Ticknor – another influential figure in his coaching journey. Ticknor was involved in minor league coaching between the IBA and CBA from 1989-2013 and joined Joeger’s staff as an assistant in Memphis once the Land of 10,000 Lakes native was appointed head coach.

“I was his assistant in Bismarck my third year out of college,” noted Joerger. "He showed me what it is to be a professional. He’d say ‘This is how you do it, this is how you treat players, this is what you expect, this is what you demand and this is what you do not allow.’ I used that as my blueprint.”

The blueprint succeeded, as Joerger netted five championships across three separate minor leagues (CBA, IBA and NBA D-League). Despite his successes, Joerger states his biggest learnings have always come from losses rather than victories.

“I made a lot of mistakes and I still make mistakes but you learn from them. When chances come around again, you use what you learned."

As one of the youngest coaches in the Association, Joerger has studied the habits and tendencies of some the League’s greats in addition to Saunders, including Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle and Phil Jackson. “You try to do what they did and then see if you can take it a little bit further. Popovich and Rick Carlisle also let me be around practices and training camps and let me pick their brain. I’m very lucky to have watched those guys work.”

In his time as a head coach, improving has clearly been a specialty of Joerger’s. The Grizzlies ranked among the NBA’s best in defensive efficiency year after year while closing games at a high level, both being categories that the newly appointed Kings coach prides himself on.

“Something that’s a big deal to me is winning close games."

"If you can sit down in the huddle in the last two minutes and win close games, that’s when your team can really come together.”

In three seasons under Joerger, the Grizzlies won 65 percent of their games decided by five points or less, ranking among the top six in the League in each season since 2013. Additionally, Joerger-led Grizzlies squads continually held their own on the defensive side of the floor, allowing among the fewest points per contest in the Association each season.

“Trust is built at the defensive end of the floor and chemistry is built at the defensive end of the floor. We’ll build our team through that end,” emphasized Joerger.

With a full offseason and the 2016 NBA Draft upcoming, Joerger now turns his attention to the 2016-17 season and beyond, where the team will continue to lay the foundation for the team’s New Era of Proud.

“We’re always going to have our arms around each other and it’s going to be fun. The best days are ahead. I’m looking forward to it.”

joerger-cites-legendary-mentors-for-coaching-mindset

Joerger Cites Legendary Mentors for Coaching Mindset

Alex Kramers

In the pivotal Game 7 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals, Karl outdueled Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan and the rival Utah Jazz in a tense, back-and-forth contest that went down to the wire. With the Sonics clinging to a one-point lead in the closing seconds, All-Star forward Shawn Kemp connected on a pair of clutch free throws, while his big-man counterpart, Hall of Famer Karl Malone, was unable to cash in at the foul line on the other end, sealing Seattle’s first trip to the NBA Finals since 1979.

“That’s the best Playoff series I’ve ever been in … it was two teams that basically played an even series for six games and 47 minutes,” says Karl. “It was probably the most fun day of my life, I think, from the standpoint of winning a game.”

Seattle – which averaged nearly 60 wins per season and captured three division titles during Karl’s six-year tenure in the Pacific Northwest – would rally to win a pair of contests against the eventual NBA-champion Chicago Bulls after falling behind 3-0 in the series.

Nuggets 121, Hornets 63 – April 27, 2009

Entering the Playoffs as the West’s No. 2 seed with a franchise-record 54 wins, the Nuggets dominated from tipoff to the final buzzer in Game 4 of the opening round against the Hornets, tying the NBA record for biggest postseason margin of victory (58) in League history, set by the 1956 Minneapolis Lakers.

“I thought we showed that this is a team we should not only beat, but we should go after and be very aggressive,” says Karl. “In a lot of ways, that was kind of the beginning of us going on to beat Dallas in the second round, and of course, losing in six games to the Lakers in the (Western Conference) Finals.”

With another lopsided victory in the following contest, Karl – guiding his fifth franchise to the postseason, trailing only Larry Brown (seven) – would lead Denver past the first round for the first time since 1994.

Nuggets 97, Warriors 95 – April 21, 2013

Two years prior to securing the NBA title, the sixth-seeded Warriors faced Karl’s 57-win Nuggets in the first round, and with the game –and home-court advantage – on the line, the longtime coach put the ball in the hands of one of his  favorite playmakers and most-trusted elder statesmen.

Andre Miller – who spent parts of five seasons with Karl in Denver and would once again reunite with Karl in Sacramento in 2014-15 – drove past 2014-15 All-Defensive Team selection Draymond Green and scooped in a lay-up with 1.3 seconds remaining on the clock, sealing a Denver victory and giving the veteran guard 28 points in 27 minutes off the bench.

“Andre was a guy who hadn’t won a Playoff series until two or three years ago, and he always was focused and disciplined,” says Karl. “We actually were losing control of the game, and I think Andre just willed the game – and he has that way of doing that. It was fantastic.”

Kings 109, Celtics 101 – February 21, 2015

Returning to the sidelines, after a nearly two-year absence, to a boisterous standing ovation from a sellout crowd at Sleep Train Arena, Karl faced a 14-point deficit in the opening minutes, before once again turning to a familiar face to help lead a frenzied comeback and secure his first win as Sacramento’s head coach.

“I looked on the bench, and I’m going, ‘Ok, Andre – go save me like you’ve done so many times,’” chuckles Karl. “Andre went in, he kind of saved me, and the fans were so respectful and welcoming.”

Appreciative of the crowd’s unwavering support and enthusiasm from Day 1, Karl – aiming to kick-start a franchise turnaround – instantly recognized a devoted fanbase eager for a return to glory.

“You felt the loyalty of that building and the fans being loyal to this team,” he continues. “They’ve stayed together and supported this team and this organization, and you could feel in that moment that I was the guy they were hoping to turn the corner – turn the page on the bad and find some good.”

karl-recalls-top-5-coaching-wins-page-2

Karl Recalls Top 5 Coaching Wins - Page 2

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.”

karl-recalls-top-5-coaching-wins

Karl Recalls Top 5 Coaching Wins

sacjwise

With Sacramento's 14th win of the 2015-16 season, in which the team secured a W for the first time ever in Oklahoma City, Kings head coach George Karl notched the 1,156th win of his career.

The feat moved him in front of 11-time NBA Champion coach Phil Jackson, whose stints with the Bulls and Lakers are some of the most prolific in NBA history.

"He’s a great coach, he’s maybe the best," said Karl following the Kings win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, which tied him with Jackson. "I don’t know what [my] record is against him, but I’m pretty sure it’s not very good.  I know it’s not very good in the playoffs, but it might be decent in the regular season.”

It is rarified air for the coach who withstood and beat two bouts of cancer while leading the Denver Nuggets. His spot in the all-time wins rankings is surrounded by six Hall of Fame coaches.

“It’s a good, fun thing with my family," continued Karl. "My son, my daughter, my son in-law and my staff, we joke about it all the time."

Coach Karl now sits 55 wins away from Pat Riley and 4th on the list, and if the squad plays like it did in Oklahoma City, he should have a solid chance to get there sooner than later.

Phil Jackson

Joerger Cites Legendary Mentors for Coaching Mindset

Karl Recalls Top 5 Coaching Wins - Page 2

Karl Recalls Top 5 Coaching Wins

Karl Surpasses Phil Jackson on Wins List