Lawrence Adam Frank (born August 23, 1970) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach who is currently working as the President of Basketball Operations for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He formerly served as head coach of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, and has been an assistant coach for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and the Nets. Frank was honored the 2020

NBA Executive of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...

after acquiring both

Paul George Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a seven-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of th ...

and

Kawhi Leonard Kawhi Anthony Leonard ( ; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA champion, he is a five-time All-Star with three All-NBA ...

during the 2019 offseason.

Early life and education

Frank was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and grew up in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

. He graduated from

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

in 1988, but he never made the school's basketball team.Popper, Steve
"A Coach in Training, Even as a Teenager"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 28, 2004. Accessed March 28, 2008. "Almost 20 years ago, Bruce Frank was the starting point guard for the Teaneck High School team, playing alongside the future N.B.A. player Tony Campbell. Frank was good enough to dream of playing in the NBA himself someday and to earn a place in Howie Garfinkel's Five-Star Basketball Camp. The camp also held interest for Bruce Frank's younger brother, Lawrence, a 16-year-old who had been cut from the same Teaneck High team." He attended Camp Greylock for Boys, a sports camp in the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

. Frank, who is Jewish, played for a

Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations ...

team and was also a player-coach for a

Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...

team. He earned his B.S. in education from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in 1992, where he spent four seasons as a manager for the Hoosier basketball team coached by

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

. During his time at Indiana the Hoosiers won the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championship twice, once in the 1988–89 season and again in the 1990–91 season. His senior year, during the 1991–92 season, Indiana reached the 1992 NCAA Final Four, but fell to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

in a foul-plagued game in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

. Frank has frequently cited Knight as a role model and mentor. Asked what he learned most of Knight, he said, "It's more of what he stood for. If you work hard and are trustworthy it will carry you a long way. Master your subject matter, have confidence, be reliable and sincere. He is a great mentor and teacher to have at age 18. With him you started at the bottom and were given nothing. Everything you got, you earned—sweat equity."

Coaching career

Assistant coach

Frank served as an assistant coach at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

for three seasons under Head coach Kevin O'Neill. Frank first worked with O'Neill as a staff assistant at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of ...

in 1992 and during his tenure, helped lead the Marquette Warriors to two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

tournament berths and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1994. Frank then spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

under Brian Hill. Hill would later serve as Frank's assistant with the New Jersey Nets. His responsibilities with the Grizzlies included scouting upcoming opponents as well as practice and bench coaching duties.

Head coach

Frank became the interim head coach of the New Jersey Nets on January 26, 2004, succeeding Byron Scott, after serving as an assistant coach with the team since the 2000–01 season. He officially became the head coach of the Nets on June 21, 2004. Frank began his NBA head coaching career by achieving a 13–0 record from January 27 to February 24, 2004, setting a new NBA record for the most consecutive wins by a rookie NBA head coach. The 13-game winning streak was also the longest winning streak of a rookie head coach in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues. During this streak, the Nets won six consecutive games on the road, giving Frank the mark for the most road-game wins by a rookie head coach. The Nets picked up the extension option in Frank’s contract on June 6, 2006, and added a two-year extension on July 23, 2007. However, Frank's tenure as Nets head coach ended on November 29, 2009, after the Nets began the season with an 0–16 record. This streak was ongoing at the time of his dismissal and continued afterwards. Frank was the only coach ever in the NBA to start and end his tenure with a team with a double-digit winning streak and losing streak. Following his firing, Frank worked as an analyst for NBATV. On July 15, 2010, Frank was hired by the

, replacing

Tom Thibodeau Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. ( ; born January 17, 1958) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national ...

as the lead assistant coach on

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

' coaching staff. Lawrence Frank timeout

On August 3, 2011, Frank was introduced as the head coach of the

. After a loss to

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

on November 12, 2012, the Pistons fell to 0–8. This made Frank the third coach in the history of the NBA to start at least 0–8 with two separate franchises. On April 18, 2013, Frank was fired by the Pistons after going 54–94 in two seasons. On June 28, 2013, he gave in to rookie coach

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

's rather public recruiting efforts to make Frank (who had coached Kidd when he played for the Nets) his lead assistant coach on the now-Brooklyn Nets. Frank's contract made him the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA at the time (approximately $6 million over 6 years). Preferring to delegate his authority, Kidd stated that Frank's role would be to run the team's defense, while being Kidd's head-coaching mentor. Kidd placed another assistant coach, John Welch, in charge of the team's offense. On December 3, 2013, Frank was demoted—relegated by Nets head coach

to merely filing team evaluation reports. This so-called "re-assignment" meant that Frank would be banned from being on the bench during games and from even attending team practices. This resulted from escalating tensions and squabbling between the two over the 'right' coaching philosophies, strategies, and tactics for the team. On September 25, 2014, Frank joined the

staff after reaching a buyout agreement with the Nets.

Executive career

On June 30, 2016, the Clippers promoted him to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. On August 4, 2017, Frank was promoted to President for Basketball Operations, replacing

. Clippers chairman

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball As ...

removed Rivers from his position as team president to focus on his role as head coach.

Personal life

Frank has a wife and two daughters and lives in New Jersey during the offseason. In addition to his degree from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest c ...

, Frank also holds an M.S. in education administration from

Head coaching record

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New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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References

External links

Coaching statistics
at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Lawrence 1970 births Living people American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball coaches from New York (state) Boston Celtics assistant coaches Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches Detroit Pistons head coaches Indiana University Bloomington alumni Jewish American sportspeople Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches Marquette University alumni New Jersey Nets assistant coaches New Jersey Nets head coaches People from Demarest, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from New York City Teaneck High School alumni Tennessee Volunteers basketball coaches Vancouver Grizzlies assistant coaches 21st-century American Jews