Lionel Hollins facts for kids
Hollins in Vancouver during a 2010 pre-season game.
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| Assistant coach | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 19, 1953 Arkansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| High school | Rancho (North Las Vegas, Nevada) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College |
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| NBA Draft | 1975 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall |
| Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Pro career | 1975–1985 |
| Coaching career | 1985–present |
| League | NBA |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1975–1980 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1980–1982 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1982–1983 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1983–1984 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1984–1985 | Houston Rockets |
| As coach: | |
| 1985–1988 | Arizona State (assistant) |
| 1988–1995 | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| 1995–1999 | Vancouver Grizzlies (assistant) |
| 1999–2000 | Vancouver Grizzlies (interim) |
| 2000–2001 | Las Vegas Silver Bandits |
| 2002 | Saint Louis Skyhawks |
| 2002–2007 | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
| 2004 | Memphis Grizzlies (interim) |
| 2008–2009 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| 2009–2013 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2014–2016 | Brooklyn Nets |
| 2019–2021 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 2022–2023 | Houston Rockets (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As assistant coach:
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| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 7,809 (11.6 ppg) |
| Assists | 3,006 (4.5 apg) |
| Steals | 1,053 (1.6 spg) |
Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Hollins was a point guard. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers and helped them win an NBA championship in 1977. He was also named an NBA All-Star in 1978. The Trail Blazers honored him by retiring his jersey number 14.
Playing Career Highlights
Lionel Hollins played in the NBA for ten years as a point guard. He played for five different teams. On average, he scored 11.6 points and made 4.5 assists per game.
In 1974, Lionel had a serious injury from a moped crash. A bicyclist hit him. Luckily, this did not stop his basketball career. However, his left pinky and ring finger never fully healed.
The Portland Trail Blazers chose Hollins as the sixth pick in the 1975 NBA draft. He came from Arizona State University. In his first season, he was named to the All-Rookie first team. He averaged 10.8 points in 78 games for the Blazers. Before Arizona State, he played two years at Dixie College. He later graduated from Arizona State University in 1986 with a degree in sociology.
Hollins was a key player on the Trail Blazers' 1976–77 championship team. One year later, in 1978, he made his only All-Star Game appearance. He was also chosen for the NBA All-Defensive team twice, in 1978 and 1979. To honor his great career, the Portland Trail Blazers retired his #14 jersey on April 18, 2007.
Coaching Journey
After he stopped playing, Hollins became an assistant coach at his old college, Arizona State, in 1985. He stayed there until 1988. Then, coach Cotton Fitzsimmons asked him to join his staff with the Phoenix Suns.
In his first season with Phoenix, the Suns improved a lot. They won 27 more games than the year before. They even reached the Western Conference Finals. Their coach, Fitzsimmons, was named Coach of the Year. Kevin Johnson, a player on the team, said Hollins helped him become one of the Suns' best players ever.
Hollins was an assistant coach for the Suns during a very successful time. The team had missed the playoffs for three years before he joined. But with him, they won more than 53 games almost every season. They only missed getting past the first round of the playoffs once in his seven years there. A big highlight was the 1992–93 season. The team won 62 games and was led by coach Paul Westphal and MVP Charles Barkley. They made it to the 1993 NBA Finals but lost to the Chicago Bulls.
In 1995, Hollins joined the first coaching staff of the new team, the Vancouver Grizzlies. On December 16, 1999, he became the interim (temporary) coach of the Grizzlies. This happened after the team's coach, Brian Hill, was fired during the season. Even though players liked Hollins, he was not kept as the head coach after that season. This was the first of his three times coaching the Grizzlies.
In 2000, Hollins was the head coach for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits. This team was part of the International Basketball League (IBL). His team had the second-best record in the league at 20 wins and 11 losses. However, the Bandits team stopped playing on March 13, 2001. The IBL also ended after that season.
Next, Hollins was an assistant coach for the Harlem Globetrotters in 2001. In 2002, he coached the St. Louis SkyHawks in the United States Basketball League (USBL).
Later in 2002, Hollins went back to the Grizzlies as an assistant coach. By then, the team had moved and was now the Memphis Grizzlies. He stayed in this role until 2007. During this time, he also coached four games as an interim coach in 2004. On May 14, 2008, Hollins was hired as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
On January 25, 2009, Hollins was named the head coach of the Grizzlies again. This was his third time coaching them, but the first time it was not just a temporary job. The Grizzlies had been struggling, winning only 22 games in each of the two previous seasons. Hollins wanted to build a team with players who played his "hard-nosed" style. This led to what became known as the "Grit and Grind" era for the Grizzlies.
One of his first coaching decisions was to make Mike Conley and Marc Gasol starting players. In his first off-season, Memphis got Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. Hollins thought both players were perfect for his style of basketball. All four of these players had very successful careers in Memphis.
On February 11, 2011, Hollins won his 100th game as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. That season, he led his team to a 46-36 record. This earned them the eighth spot in the playoffs. The Grizzlies then surprised everyone by beating the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. This was the first time in the team's history they won a playoff series. They became only the fourth eighth-seeded team in NBA history to beat a number one seed. They later lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games.
In the shorter 2011 NBA season, Hollins' Grizzlies finished with a 41-25 record. This was the best winning percentage in the team's history at that time. Hollins was named Coach of the Month for April because the Grizzlies had a great 13-3 record that month. This helped the Grizzlies get the fourth seed in the Western Conference. This meant they had home-court advantage for the first time ever. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.
In the 2012–2013 season, Hollins led Memphis to a team record of 56 wins. This broke their previous winning percentage record. Marc Gasol was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Grizzlies were known for their strong defense, holding opponents to only 89.3 points per game.
In the playoffs, the Grizzlies got revenge on the Los Angeles Clippers, beating them in six games. In the next round, they defeated the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. Even though Oklahoma City was missing their star player Russell Westbrook, Memphis reached their first conference finals ever. However, they were swept (lost all four games) by the experienced San Antonio Spurs. This ended the Grizzlies' season.
On June 10, 2013, it was announced that Hollins' contract would not be renewed. He is still known as the Grizzlies' most successful coach. He improved the team's record almost every season. He led them to three playoff appearances in a row, their first playoff win, and a team-best winning percentage. As of 2024, the Grizzlies have not returned to the conference finals since Hollins left.
On July 2, 2014, Hollins agreed to become the head coach for the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons. He was officially introduced on July 7, 2014. In his first season, he led the Nets to the playoffs. On January 10, 2016, he was let go from his coaching duties by the Nets. This happened after the team started the 2015–16 season with a 10-27 record.
On July 31, 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Hollins as an assistant coach. Hollins won his second championship on October 11, 2020. The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in 6 games.
On July 3, 2022, the Houston Rockets hired Hollins as an assistant coach.
Personal Life
Lionel Hollins has two sons. His son, Austin Hollins, played college basketball for the University of Minnesota's men's basketball team. Austin has also played basketball professionally in the EuroLeague.
His other son, Anthony, played Division III basketball for Washington University in St. Louis. At the time, his team was ranked number one in the country. Anthony is now an orthopedic surgeon.
Images for kids
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Hollins in Vancouver during a 2010 pre-season game.
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Hollins was a key member of the Trail Blazers' 1976–77 championship team.
