Alvin Harris Gentry is a professional basketball coach currently serving as interim head coach for the Sacramento Kings. He has coached at the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and New Orleans Pelicans. He also served as assistant coaches for the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors.
Alvin Gentry – Early life and career
Alvin Gentry was born and raised in Shelby, North Carolina, and he attended local Shelby High School. His close cousin is the NBA star David Thompson, who played for North Carolina University and in the NBA.
Gentry played for the Appalachian State University Climbers in college, playing under legendary coach Press Maravich.
In 1978, Alvin Gentry worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado for one year.
In 1980, he became the assistant coach of the Baylor University Bears. A year later, Gentry rejoined the University of Colorado, where he was working as a full-time assistant for the next five seasons.
After Colorado, Gentry switched to the University of Kansas to help Larry Brown lead the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA championship.
Alvin Gentry – San Antonio Spurs
Alvin Gentry joined the San Antonio Spurs with Larry Brown in 1989 and continued to serve as an assistant coach. Spurs’ assistant coaches in the same period include Greg Popovich, RC Buford, and Ed Manning.
Alvin Gentry – Los Angeles Clippers
In the 1990-91 season, after working with the Spurs for two seasons, Gentry became an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Alvin Gentry – Miami Heat
1991-92 season, Coach joined the Miami Heat team as a lead assistant coach.
On February 1, 1995, Alvin Gentry got his first job as an interim head coach. Gentry coached the Heat in 36 games and achieved 15 wins and 21 losses.
Alvin Gentry – Detroit Pistons
In the summer of 1995, Gentry moved to the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach.
In the 1997-98 season, Gentry scored 16 wins and 21 losses in the 37 games he served as the head coach.
Alvin Gentry – Los Angeles Clippers
Before the 1999-00 season, Alvin Gentry returned to the Spurs as the leading assistant for Gregg Popovich. But a few weeks after returning to the Spurs, he received an offer to become head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.
In the first two years of coaching the Clippers, Gentry’s coaching record was only 31 wins and 51 losses and 39 wins and 43 losses.
At that time, the leading players for the Clippers were all the future stars in the league, such as Darius Miles, Elton Brand, and Lamar Odom. Although the Clippers signed the veteran point guard Andre Miller in the third season, team poor results continued (19 wins and 39 losses) and forced Gentry to leave the position in February 2003.
Alvin Gentry – Phoenix Suns
From 2003-09, for six years, Alvin Gentry has been an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns, under Mike D’Antoni and Terry Porter, successively. On February 16, 2009, the Suns waived the head coach Terry Porter, and Gentry was promoted to serve as the team’s interim head coach. Since then, Gentry led the Suns in a long-lost winning run and achieved a record of 18 wins and 13 losses, but the Suns still failed to make the playoffs.
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In May 2009, the Phoenix Suns officially appointed Gentry as their head coach for the upcoming seasons.
In the 2009-10 season, the Suns had a record of 54 wins and 28 losses in the regular season, broke into the playoffs, and reached the Western Conference finals.
In the 2012-13 season, after losing Steve Nash, Alvin Gentry led the Suns to only 13 victories in 41 games.
A few months later, Gentry and the Suns broke up peacefully and agreed that both sides should go in a different direction. He led the team with a total record of 158 wins and 144 losses.
Alvin Gentry – Clippers Assistant Role
In July 2013, Gentry returned to the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant coach under Doc Rivers. That was the third time he has returned to the Clippers as a coach. The Clippers averaged 107.9 points per game and ranked first in the league but never managed to win it all.
Alvin Gentry – Golden State Warriors
For the 2014-15 season, Gentry joined the coaching staff of the Golden State Warriors as a leading assistant of Steve Kerr. He helped the team regain the championship after 40 years.
Alvin Gentry – New Orleans Pelicans
Alvin Gentry has reached a four-year agreement worth $13.7 million with the Pelicans in 2015. In his first two seasons, Gentry coached the Pelicans to a record of 64 wins and 100 losses. Next year, he led the team to a postseason record of 48 wins and 34 losses, ranking 6th in the Western Conference. In the first round of playoffs, they swept the Trail Blazers 4-0 to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. On February 1, 2019, the Pelicans played against the Grizzlies at home and beat their opponents 139-111. With that win, Pelican’s coach Gentry reached his 500th victory in his coaching career.
New Orleans Pelicans often had problems with injuries. In August 2020, after the restart of the 2019-20 season and a disappointing performance in the NBA bubble, the Pelicans fired head coach Alvin Gentry. In five seasons, his coaching record was 175 wins and 225 losses. The coach had to use 140 starting lineups during that time. He left the team with the second-most wins in Pelicans history, behind Byron Scott. He is the only coach in franchise history who has more wins than losses in the playoffs.
Alvin Gentry – Sacramento Kings
At the beginning of the 2020-21 season, Alvin Gentry joined the coaching staff of the Sacramento Kings as the head assistant coach under Luke Walton. In November, after the disappointing season start, the Kings decided to fire Walton and give a chance to Gentry till the end of the season.
Who is Alvin Gentry’s wife?
Alvin Gentry’s wife, Suzanne Harris, is a former corporate sales director. Suzanne is the second wife of the Sacramento Kings’ interim coach. Alvin and Suzanne first met each other in 1988. Alvin worked for the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach during that time. After dating for several years, the pair married in 1990.
How tall is Alvin Gentry?
Gentry is 193cm(6’5) tall which is considered to be quite short for a basketball player. Many of the players are over 2 meters tall, but shorter players can use their height to their advantage. Maybe thanks to his height, Gentry learned the tactics he teaches now to the Kings.
Who are the coaches for the Sacramento Kings?
Gentry assistants are Mike Longabardi, ex-star player Doug Christie and Jonah Herscu. Rico Hines, Stacey Augmon, and Lindsey Harding take care of player development.
