26 Facts About Del Harris

1.

Delmer William Harris was born on June 18,1937 and is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks.

2.

Del Harris served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Legends.

3.

Del Harris was an assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Houston Rockets.

4.

Del Harris was inducted into the first class of Plainfield High School's Hall of Fame.

5.

Del Harris was a 3-time All-Conference basketball player for Coach Duard Walker, in addition to the Honorable Mention Little All-American recognition while at Milligan.

6.

In 1965, Del Harris earned a master's degree in history from Indiana University.

7.

Del Harris remains, today, as the Earlham coaching leader in wins and winning percentage.

8.

Del Harris led the Quakers to 15 conference or tournament titles during his tenure.

9.

Del Harris coached seven summers in the Superior League of Puerto Rico while at Earlham, winning three national titles while coaching against various ABA, NBA and NCAA coaches.

10.

Del Harris coached the Iberia Superstars of the European Professional Basketball League in early 1975.

11.

Del Harris led the Rockets to the NBA Finals in the 1981 season, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics four games to two in Larry Bird's first championship.

12.

Not signing any of their own free agents, the Rockets finished last and Del Harris was replaced with Bill Fitch.

13.

Del Harris was an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks from 2000 to 2007.

14.

On July 3,2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that Del Harris agreed to become an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls along with former Charlotte Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and longtime NBA assistant Bob Ociepka.

15.

On November 30,2009, after the New Jersey Nets had lost their first 18 games and removed coach Lawrence Frank, GM Kiki VanDeWeghe asked Del Harris to come help him as he took over the coaching reins.

16.

Del Harris stayed until the week before the All-Star game and announced he would not continue on the rest of the season.

17.

Del Harris returned to his home in the Dallas area to be the General Manager of the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League, the Mavericks minor league affiliate.

18.

On October 3,2011, it was announced that Del Harris would take over as the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks' NBA Development League affiliate the Texas Legends.

19.

Del Harris served as head coach of the National Team for the CentroBasket games in El Salvador in 1974, winning the first international gold in Puerto Rico's history.

20.

Del Harris coached the team to a silver in the FIBA Copa do America X Europa in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1974.

21.

Del Harris was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich with the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.

22.

Del Harris served as the first foreigner to become coach of the Chinese national men's team, where he coached NBA All-Star center Yao Ming and led China to a surprising upset victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the 2004 Athens Olympic basketball tournament.

23.

Del Harris is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame as well as those of Milligan College and Earlham College.

24.

Del Harris is the father of five children including Golden State Warriors Assistant General manager Larry Del Harris.

25.

Del Harris appeared in some minor roles in Space Jam, Over the Top, In the House, and Diagnosis Murder.

26.

Del Harris has been inducted into the Plainfield High School Hall of Fame, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Milligan College Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.