Steve Clifford

Last updated
Steve Clifford
Steve Clifford in 2020.jpg
Clifford in 2020
Charlotte Hornets
PositionFront office advisor/executive
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 63)
Island Falls, Maine, U.S.
Career information
High school North Country Union
(Newport, Vermont)
College Maine–Farmington (1979–1983)
Coaching career1983–2024
Career history
As coach:
1983–1985 Woodland HS
1985–1989 Saint Anselm (assistant)
1989–1990 Fairfield (assistant)
1990–1994 Boston University (assistant)
1994–1995 Siena (assistant)
1995–1999 Adelphi
1999–2000 East Carolina (assistant)
2001–2003 New York Knicks (assistant)
2003–2007 Houston Rockets (assistant)
2007–2012 Orlando Magic (assistant)
2012–2013 Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
2013–2018 Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
2018–2021 Orlando Magic
2022–2024 Charlotte Hornets
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who serves as a front office advisor for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Hornets and the Orlando Magic.

Contents

Early life

Born in Island Falls, Maine, Clifford grew up in Mattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved to Vermont. [1] He played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont. [2] [3]

Clifford attended the University of Maine at Farmington, where he played college basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, he was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He graduated with a degree in special education. [4]

Coaching career

After graduating from college, Clifford became a teacher at Woodland High School in Maine. He also gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as their head coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments. [2] [5] He then served as an assistant coach at St. Anselm College, Fairfield University, Boston University and Siena College. In 1995, he assumed the head coaching duties at Adelphi University and coached for four seasons leading his team to four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, an 86–36 (.705) record and four consecutive 20-win seasons. He was the first coach in the school's history with back-to-back 20-plus win seasons. [5]

Clifford became an NBA assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets under Jeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. He then was an assistant for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic. [2] He considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors. [6] He reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the NBA Finals in 2009.

Clifford then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012–13 as an assistant. [7]

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets

On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to be their head coach. [8]

Clifford implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning the Charlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the NBA in that category. He led the Bobcats to the 2014 NBA playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43–39 record. The two years prior to him joining the Bobcats only had a combined total of 28 wins. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7–1 record leading to the playoffs. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting in his first year. On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Clifford would not coach indefinitely to deal with his health issue. [9] [10] On January 11, 2018, the Hornets announced that Clifford was medically cleared to return to coaching [11] after a 21-game absence after dealing with sleep deprivation. [12] After the 2017–18 regular season, he was fired as head coach on April 13, 2018, after five seasons coaching the team to a 196–214 record total. [13]

Orlando Magic

On May 30, 2018, Clifford was named the head coach of the Orlando Magic. [14]

The Magic started the 2018–19 season by splitting their first 24 games before falling 11 games under .500 after a 126–117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. [15] Despite the dismal start, Clifford led the Magic on a dramatic turnaround. On April 7, 2019, Orlando defeated the Boston Celtics 116–108 to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2011–12 season. [16] The win also clinched the Magic's first Southeast Division title since the 2009–10 season. This was the Magic's first playoff appearance since trading Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, [17] ending the longest playoff drought in franchise history. [18]

On June 5, 2021, Clifford and the Magic decided to part ways. [19]

Charlotte Hornets (second stint)

After the 2021–22 NBA season concluded, the Hornets re-hired Clifford as their head coach on June 24, 2022. [20]

On April 3, 2024, the Hornets announced that Clifford would step down as head coach at the end of the 2023-24 season and move into a front-office advisory role. [21]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Adelphi Panthers (New York Collegiate Athletic Conference)(1995–1999)
1995–96Adelphi 23–717–52nd NCAA D-II First Round
1996–97Adelphi 21–917–53rd NCAA D-II First Round
1997–98Adelphi 22–818–43rd NCAA D-II First Round
1998–99Adelphi 20–1214–83rd NCAA D-II Sweet 16
Adelphi University:86–36 (.705)66–22
Total:86–36 (.705)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
Charlotte 2013–14 824339.5243rd in Southeast 404.000Lost in First round
Charlotte 2014–15 823349.4024th in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2015–16 824834.5853rd in Southeast734.429Lost in First round
Charlotte 2016–17 823646.4394th in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2017–18 823646.4393rd in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Orlando 2018–19 824240.5121st in Southeast514.200Lost in First round
Orlando 2019–20 733340.4522nd in Southeast514.200Lost in First round
Orlando 2020–21 722151.2925th in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2022–23 822755.3295th in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Charlotte 2023–24 822161.2564th in Southeast————Missed playoffs
Career801340461.42421516.238

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Clark, Ernie (June 12, 2013). "Maine native Clifford works way into NBA's head coaching fraternity at Charlotte". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Maine native Steve Clifford named Bobcats head coach". Bangor Daily News . May 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ Reed, Steve (May 28, 2013). "Charlotte Bobcats reportedly hire coach with Vermont ties". Burlington Free Press . Archived from the original on June 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Steve Clifford". NBA.com . Archived from the original on May 10, 2013.
  5. 1 2 DiFillipo, Matt (November 25, 2011). "BASKETBALL: Clifford still learning". Kennebec Journal . Archived from the original on January 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ Media, Mark (August 15, 2012). "Lakers assistant coach candidate profile: Steve Clifford". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Lakers Announce Coaching Staff Changes". NBA.com. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Charlotte Bobcats Name Steve Clifford Head Coach". NBA.com. May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Steve Clifford Status Update". NBA.com. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford out indefinitely with 'health issue'". NBA.com. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Steve Clifford Status Update". NBA.com. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Hornets coach Clifford back to work after sleep deprivation". USA TODAY. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Hornets Relieve Clifford of Head Coaching Duties". NBA.com. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Orlando Magic Name Steve Clifford Head Coach". NBA.com. May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  15. ↑ Parry, Roy (January 29, 2019). "Paul George, Dennis Schroder shine as Magic fall 126-117 to Thunder". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  16. ↑ Parry, Roy (April 7, 2019). "Orlando Magic clinch playoff spot for first time in seven seasons with win over Boston Celtics". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  17. ↑ Bontemps, Tim (April 8, 2019). "Wins by Nets, Magic leave three teams on the Eastern Conference bubble". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  18. ↑ "NBA: Magic end lengthy play-off drought with win at Boston; Warriors earn West top seed by routing Clippers". The Straits Times. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019. With the win, Orlando ended the longest play-off drought in franchise history.
  19. ↑ "Orlando Magic, Steve Clifford Mutually Agree to Part Ways". NBA.com. June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Charlotte Hornets Name Steve Clifford Head Coach". NBA.com. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Steve Clifford To Step Down As Hornets Head Coach After The Season". NBA.com. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
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