Corey Yasuto Gaines (born June 1, 1965) is an American 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 ...

coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. He was also a former head coach of the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA).

Professional career

Gaines was selected by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

in the 3rd round (65th overall) of the

1988 NBA Draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their ...

. A 6' 3" (1.90 m) guard from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

and

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit and Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near P ...

, Gaines played in 5 NBA seasons for 4 different teams. He played for 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 ...

(1988–89),

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known 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 league's Ea ...

(1989–90, 1994–95),

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

(1990–91) 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

(1993–94). In his NBA career, he played in 80 games and scored a total of 248 points. Throughout his NBA career, he also spent time playing in

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

for multiple teams. Gaines also played in multiple international basketball leagues (including the Japanese professional men's basketball league) throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. The last team he played for was the Long Beach Jam under the revived

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

. The Jam won the ABA Championship in their first season of existence, thanks in part to having players like

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

on their squad.

Coaching career

After winning the ABA Championship, Gaines would retire from playing basketball and start out as an assistant coach for the Long Beach Jam in their second year of existence. During the season, he would take over the head coach role there after their previous coach would accept a coaching role in the NBA. After the Jam's second season ended, it was announced that the Long Beach Jam would not play the next season due to their eventual move to Bakersfield in order to complete their transition to the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. As a result, he would soon be an assistant coach for the

for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. On November 7, 2007, Gaines became the head coach of the

, replacing outgoing head coach Paul Westhead. Gaines had prior experience with Westhead's offense, having played for him at Loyola Marymount University and with the Nuggets. Gaines kept the same offense that Westhead employed, and in 2009, he directed the Mercury to their second WNBA title. Under Gaines' guidance,

Diana Taurasi Diana Lorena Taurasi (born June 11, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has w ...

became the second player in WNBA history to win the regular season scoring title, the

WNBA MVP Award The Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season -- 1997. MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular ...

, the WNBA Championship, and the WNBA Finals MVP Award in the same season. In November 2011, Gaines was promoted to general manager of the Mercury, taking over a position vacated by Ann Meyers-Drysdale. On August 8, 2013, the Phoenix Mercury announced that they had relieved Gaines of his duties as head coach and general manager, and named former University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University men's basketball head coach Russ Pennell as the team's interim head coach. Gaines would have his first coaching experience in the NBA with the

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

as a player development coach, starting back in the 2010–11 season. In January 2013, Gaines was temporarily promoted to being an assistant head coach for the

alongside Dan Panaggio after both

Dan Majerle Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...

and Elston Turner would resign from their roles after the announcement of

Lindsey Hunter Lindsey Benson Hunter Jr. (born December 3, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2010, spending most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. He ...

being the team's interim head coach. He would then continue working under the organization throughout the rest of the

2012-13 NBA season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

until the Suns hired permanent replacement assistant head coaches to replace their old coaching staff, although Gaines would still work for the organization as a player development coach alongside Irving Roland during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. However, on July 30, 2015, Gaines would end up being promoted back as a full-time assistant coach for the Suns for the 2015-16 NBA season due to some changes with the coaching and player development staffs respectively. Gaines would also be considered a prime candidate for the interim coach tag for the Suns after head coach

Jeff Hornacek Jeffrey John Hornacek (; born May 3, 1963) is an American professional basketball coach and a former player who is a coaching consultant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was the head coach for both the ...

was fired on February 1, 2016. However, after a generally awful season that was even worse than their 2012–13 season, Gaines would not have his contract renewed with the team. Before the start of the 2016–17 season, Gaines would reunite with head coach

and assistant coach Jerry Sichting as an assistant coach for the

. Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season, 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 ...

hired Gaines as a Coaching Consultant. Before the start of the 2019–20 season, Gaines was hired as an assistant coach with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Personal life

Gaines' father is African-American and his mother is of Japanese descent.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Corey 1965 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Japanese descent American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles Denver Nuggets players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Hapoel Eilat basketball players Long Beach Jam players Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Jersey Nets players New York Knicks players New York Knicks assistant coaches Omaha Racers players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Mercury coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Point guards Quad City Thunder players Scaligera Basket Verona players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players Washington Wizards assistant coaches Women's National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches Women's National Basketball Association general managers Yakima Sun Kings players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople