Christopher Matthew Jent (born January 11, 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 (appro ...

coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

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). He was formerly the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of 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, ...

, and had a stint as an assistant coach at the

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

as well.

Early life and college career

Jent was born in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

and grew up in Sparta, New Jersey. After attending high school at Sparta High School (New Jersey), he played college basketball for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

, leaving in 1992 after four seasons.

Professional playing career

Undrafted in the 1992 NBA draft, Jent was drafted in the fourth round (50th overall) in the 1992 CBA draft. Jent began his professional career with CBA teams

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basket ...

and

Columbus Horizon The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1994. History Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in Sept ...

. He was selected to the CBA All-Rookie First Team in 1993. He had a brief career in the

NBA 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 ...

, playing three games each for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

(winning a championship ring in 1994) and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

(1996–97). He played in 11 playoff games in 1994, thus giving him the rare distinction of having played in more career playoff-games than regular-season games in the NBA. In between his stints with the Rockets and the Knicks, he played with the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n NBL's North Melbourne Giants in 1995 and also played in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Coaching career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2004)

Jent was an assistant coach for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in the 2003–04 season.

Orlando Magic (2004–2005)

The next season, Jent worked in the same capacity with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, and was appointed interim head coach for the final 18 games of the 2004–05 season (going 5–13), after Johnny Davis was fired. At the start of the next season he was replaced by Brian Hill.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2011)

Beginning in November 2006, Jent took on the role of Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. He served as

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

' personal shooting coach while James was on the team.

Ohio State (2011–2013)

On June 29, 2011,

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

head basketball coach Thad Matta introduced Jent as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes.

Sacramento Kings (2013–2014)

On June 10, 2013, Jent became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. He was relieved of his duty on December 16, 2014.

Bakersfield Jam (2015–2016)

Jent would later on be the newest head coach for the Bakersfield Jam in 2015 after their former head coach ended up accepting an assistant coach/leading player development position for the

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 ...

Return to Ohio State (2016–2017)

Jent returned to Ohio State as an assistant following the 2015–16 season.

Atlanta Hawks (2017–2022)

For the 2017–18 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2024)

For the 2022–23 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Charlotte Hornets (2024–present)

Chris Jent was hired as an assistant coach on Charles Lee's staff for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024 offeason.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 26.0 , , .500 , , .364 , , .500 , , 5.0 , , 2.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .333 , , .667 , , – , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 6 , , 0 , , 14.7 , , .469 , , .429 , , .500 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.2

Playoffs

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1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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, 11 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .250 , , .231 , , – , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.2

Head coaching record

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Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jent, Chris 1970 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Andrea Costa Imola players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Atlantic City Seagulls players Bakersfield Jam coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Sussex County, New Jersey Basketball players from Orange County, California Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Columbus Horizon players Connecticut Pride players Greek Basket League players Houston Rockets players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players New York Knicks players North Melbourne Giants players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball coaches Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic head coaches Pallacanestro Reggiana players Panionios B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Sparta, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Rapid City Thrillers players Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Shooting guards Sparta High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Orange, California Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players