Michael Joseph Dunleavy Sr. (born March 21, 1954) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, coach, and general manager of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United St ...

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 ...

. He was most recently the head coach of the Tulane University men's basketball team. Dunleavy is the father of former professional basketball player Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Early life

Dunleavy was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. His primary education was at Holy Cross. He attended Nazareth Regional High School in Brooklyn, then graduated from the University of South Carolina, where he played under coach

Frank McGuire Frank Joseph McGuire (November 8, 1913 – October 11, 1994) was an American basketball coach. At the collegiate level, he was head coach for three major programs: St. John's, North Carolina, and South Carolina, winning over a hundred games at e ...

Playing career

Drafted in the sixth round of the 1976 NBA Draft with the 99th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers, the 6'3" guard played for them for one full season along with Hall-of-Fame teammate

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

and made the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

in a losing effort against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. Dunleavy then split the following season between Philadelphia and the Houston Rockets after being traded mid-season. Houston made the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, and this time Dunleavy played a large role for his team in the series, including scoring a game-high 28 points to help lead the Rockets to a Game 4 win, but yet again his team lost, this time to the Boston Celtics. Dunleavy remained in Texas after leaving Houston for the 1982–83 season, because he spent that season with the neighboring

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. After two following seasons with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

he retired due to chronic back pain. His best season as a player was with Houston in 1980–81, when he averaged 10.5 points per game and started on a team that played in the NBA Finals. During his retirement, Dunleavy worked in an investment firm. In 1988–89 and 1989–90, while an assistant coach with the Bucks, he helped as a player for two and five games respectively. In 438 games he averaged 8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 32 , , - , , 11.2 , , .414 , , - , , .756 , , 1.1 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , - , , 4.3 , , .429 , , - , , 1.000 , , 0.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 11 , , - , , 9.3 , , .395 , , - , , .688 , , 0.8 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 74 , , - , , 20.1 , , .506 , , - , , .864 , , 1.7 , , 4.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 51 , , - , , 20.3 , , .464 , , .150 , , .828 , , 2.0 , , 4.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 74 , , - , , 21.7 , , .491 , , .063 , , .839 , , 1.6 , , 3.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 10.5 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 15 , , 18.8 , , .458 , , .384 , , .708 , , 1.5 , , 3.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 79 , , 9 , , 20.5 , , .418 , , .345 , , .779 , , 1.7 , , 5.5 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 17 , , 12 , , 23.8 , , .551 , , .422 , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 4.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 19 , , 19 , , 22.8 , , .474 , , .340 , , .862 , , 1.6 , , 4.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 8.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .500 , , .500 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .286 , , .222 , , .875 , , 0.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 438 , , 55 , , 19.2 , , .467 , , .339 , , .810 , , 1.6 , , 3.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 8.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 11 , , - , , 6.2 , , .360 , , - , , .800 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 10.0 , , .000 , , - , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , - , , 7.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .833 , , 0.8 , , 2.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 20 , , - , , 23.6 , , .454 , , .400 , , .868 , , 2.1 , , 3.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 8.9 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , - , , 22.0 , , .409 , , .000 , , .833 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 7.7 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 11 , , - , , 15.8 , , .338 , , .267 , , .692 , , 1.2 , , 4.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , - , , 26.2 , , .457 , , .360 , , .917 , , 2.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 11.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 67 , , - , , 18.3 , , .428 , , .317 , , .856 , , 1.5 , , 2.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 7.0

Coaching career

He entered his first head coaching job in 1990 as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, replacing

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

. In 1991 his team, led by Magic Johnson and

Vlade Divac Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings ...

, beat the

in the Western Conference Finals and he led his team to the NBA Finals against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

but they lost in five games. He made the playoffs in his second season in Los Angeles, but lost in the first round. He then joined the

as head coach prior to the 1992–93 season and remained with them until the end of the 1995–96 season, in a dual role as vice-president of basketball operations and head coach. He relinquished his head coaching duties after a mediocre tenure to operate as the general manager, until accepting the job of head coach of the

in 1997. Dunleavy was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1999 while with the Blazers. He remained in Portland until the end of the 2000–01 season, when he was fired. He made the playoffs four times with the team. He joined the Clippers in 2003. Dunleavy led the Clippers to the second round of the playoffs, their first playoff berth since 1997, and to the franchise's first series win since a

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

first-round victory while the team was still playing in Buffalo. The Clippers finished 40–42 in 2006–07, out of the playoffs after a season-ending slump brought on by injury. He also worked for

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

in 2008, calling NBA playoff games. On February 4, 2010, Dunleavy stepped down from his duties as the Clippers' coach. He retained his position as general manager, with Kim Hughes, who had worked as Dunleavy's assistant for seven seasons, becoming interim head coach for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. On March 9, 2010, the Clippers fired Dunleavy as general manager. The Clippers accused Dunleavy of defrauding the team, and he sued the club for money owed on the remainder of his contract. An arbitrator ordered the Clippers pay Dunleavy $13 million in 2011. On March 28, 2016,

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

announced Dunleavy as the coach of the men's basketball team. This marks Dunleavy's first job as a college coach. On March 16, 2019, Tulane announced Dunleavy would not return for the 2019–20 season after finishing 4–27 in his final season.

Personal life

Dunleavy has three sons: Mike Jr., who starred at Duke University and played for six NBA teams from 2002 to 2017; Baker, the head coach at

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

; and James, an NBA player agent.

Head coaching record

NBA

, - , align="left" , L.A. Lakers , align="left" , , 82, , 58, , 24, , .707, , align="center" , 2nd in Pacific, , 19, , 12, , 7, , .632 , align="center" , Lost in NBA Finals , - , align="left" , L.A. Lakers , align="left" , , 82, , 43, , 39, , .524, , align="center" , 6th in Pacific, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 28, , 54, , .321, , align="center" , 7th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 20, , 62, , .244, , align="center" , 6th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 34, , 48, , .415, , align="center" , 6th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 25, , 57, , .305, , align="center" , 7th in Central, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , Portland , align="left" , , 82, , 46, , 36, , .561, , align="center" , 4th in Pacific, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" , Portland , align="left" , , 50, , 35, , 15, , .700, , align="center" , 1st in Pacific, , 13, , 7, , 6, , .538 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Finals , - , align="left" , Portland , align="left" , , 82, , 59, , 23, , .720, , align="center" , 2nd in Pacific, , 16, , 10, , 6, , .625 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Finals , - , align="left" , Portland , align="left" , , 82, , 50, , 32, , .610, , align="center" , 4th in Pacific, , 3, , 0, , 3, , .000 , align="center" , Lost in First Round , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 28, , 54, , .341, , align="center" , 7th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 37, , 45, , .451, , align="center" , 3rd in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 47, , 35, , .573, , align="center" , 2nd in Pacific, , 12, , 7, , 5, , .583 , align="center" , Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 40, , 42, , .488, , align="center" , 4th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 23, , 59, , .280, , align="center" , 5th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 82, , 19, , 63, , .231, , align="center" , 4th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , align="left" , , 49, , 21, , 28, , .429, , align="center" , (resigned), , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 1329, , 613, , 716, , .461, , , , 71, , 38, , 33, , .535, ,

College

References

External links

Tulane profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunleavy, Mike Sr. 1954 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Clippers head coaches Los Angeles Lakers head coaches Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks executives Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association broadcasters National Basketball Association general managers Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Portland Trail Blazers head coaches San Antonio Spurs players South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Tulane Green Wave men's basketball coaches