NEW YORK--New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has named Kurt Rambis associate head coach. The hiring reunites Rambis with Head Coach Derek Fisher, with whom he spent 10 seasons with at the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Together, Derek and I have started assembling a coaching staff to lead this team on and off the court,” Jackson said. “The three of us are similar in our philosophies and our approach to the game.”
Rambis has been a part of eight NBA Championship teams as either a player, assistant coach or advisor/assistant general manager, all with the Lakers. He comes to the Knicks bench as the franchise’s first-ever associate head coach after completing his third stint as an assistant coach with the Lakers last season. He spent 13 seasons on the Lakers bench, including seven under Jackson.
“Kurt is exactly the type of person we want in our organization to help develop our culture of success,” Fisher said. “His vast knowledge and experience as a championship player and coach are traits that we embrace adding to our staff.”
Rambis returns to New York 34 years after the team originally drafted him in the third round (58th overall) of the 1980 NBA Draft out of Santa Clara University, although he never appeared in a game for the Knicks. In 14 seasons, he played in 880 regular season games, averaging 5.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Lakers, original Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. With the Lakers, Rambis was a member of four NBA Championship teams over a seven-year span (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).
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Kurt Rambis Year-By-Year
NBA Player
Season Team G RPG APG PPG
1981-82 L.A. Lakers* 64 5.4 0.9 4.6
1982-83 L.A. Lakers 78 6.8 1.2 7.5
1983-84 L.A. Lakers 47 5.7 0.7 3.6
1984-85 L.A. Lakers* 82 6.4 0.8 5.2
1985-86 L.A. Lakers 74 7.0 0.9 5.5
1986-87 L.A. Lakers* 78 5.8 0.8 5.7
1987-88 L.A. Lakers* 70 3.8 0.8 4.0
1988-89 Charlotte 75 9.4 2.1 11.0
1989-90 Charlotte/Phoenix 74 7.1 1.8 6.2
1990-91 Phoenix 62 4.3 1.0 3.6
1991-92 Phoenix 28 3.8 1.3 3.2
1992-93 Phoenix/Sacramento 72 3.2 0.7 2.5
1993-94 L.A. Lakers 50 3.8 0.6 3.3
1994-95 L.A. Lakers 26 1.3 0.6 1.7
Totals 880 5.6 1.1 5.2
NBA Head Coach
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
1998-99 L.A. Lakers 24 13 .649 3 5 .375
2009-10 Minnesota 15 67 .183 - - ---
2010-11 Minnesota 17 65 .207 - - ---
Totals 56 145 .279 3 5 .375
NBA Assistant Coach
1994-95 L.A. Lakers 2003-04 L.A. Lakers
1995-96 L.A. Lakers 2005-06 L.A. Lakers
1996-97 L.A. Lakers 2006-07 L.A. Lakers
1997-98 L.A. Lakers 2007-08 L.A. Lakers
1998-99 L.A. Lakers 2008-09 L.A. Lakers*
2001-02 L.A. Lakers* 2013-14 L.A. Lakers
2002-03 L.A. Lakers
NBA Executive
1999-00 L.A. Lakers* Assistant General Manager
2000-01 L.A. Lakers* Assistant General Manager
* - denotes NBA Championship