Austin Ainge (born September 29, 1981) 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 (appro ...

coach, executive, and former collegiate player. He is the current president of basketball operations for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

of the

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

(NBA).

Playing career

Ainge attended Highland High School in

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Gilbert is home to 288,128 residents. It is the fifth-most populous municipality in Arizona and is considered a suburb of Phoenix. I ...

, where he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior. He was named Fiesta Conference First Team, Conference MVP, East Valley Region First Team, and East Valley MVP. Ainge had a successful basketball career at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

where, as a two-time team captain, he led the school to two Mountain West Conference championships, three NCAA tournaments and one NIT appearance. Ainge was named All-Conference Honorable Mention twice. During the 2006–07 season, he led the MWC in three-point field goal percentage at 52.5% and was one of the best three-point shooters in the nation.

Coaching career

On July 21, 2009, he was named the first head coach of the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

, an expansion team in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. In May 2011, Ainge was named Director of Player Personnel 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. Previously, Ainge performed scouting duties for the Celtics organization. As a part of this position, he worked with Celtics rookies J.R. Giddens and

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Walke ...

while they were on assignment with the

Utah Flash Orem, Utah Orem Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake ...

of the

. Prior to joining the Celtics front office staff, Ainge served a stint as an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

for

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah, United States. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now has over 1,800 graduates each year with baccalaureate and other graduate degrees from its ...

, where he was responsible for perimeter players, recruiting, player development, video breakdown, and developing game plans. There, he worked under former

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

assistant and BYU coach Roger Reid.

Personal life

Austin is the son of former

player and former

President of Basketball Operations,

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

. Ainge and his wife, Cora, have three children: Dre, Fin, and Otto.

References

External links

*
Ainge bio
at ESPN.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ainge, Austin 1981 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Arizona Basketball players from Arizona Boston Celtics scouts BYU Cougars men's basketball players Maine Red Claws coaches Sportspeople from Gilbert, Arizona Point guards Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball coaches