Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) 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 who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the

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affiliate of the

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. He served as a head coach for the NBA's

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) ...

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, and

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 as the Legends. He was also an assistant coach for 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 ...

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Houston Rockets.

Early life and college career

Harris is a 1955 graduate of Plainfield High School in

Plainfield, Indiana Plainfield is a town in Guilford Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, Guilford, Liberty Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, Liberty, and Washington Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, Washington townships, Hendricks County, Indiana, Hendricks ...

. He was inducted into the first class of Plainfield High School's Hall of Fame. Harris graduated from Milligan College in 1959 ''cum laude'' with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. He was a 3-time All-Conference basketball player for Coach Duard Walker, in addition to the Honorable Mention Little All-American recognition while at Milligan. In 1965, Harris earned a master's degree in history from Indiana University.

High school coach

He began his coaching career at the Junior High School level in Johnson City, Tennessee but is best known for his tenure in his native Indiana; in four years in the Indiana ranks he built a record of 54–15 over his last three seasons, winning two Conference titles and a Sectional title. He coached at three different high schools in Indiana; the Roachdale Hawks, the Dale Golden Aces and the Spencer Cops; his greatest success came at Dale, as he led the Golden Aces to a 2-year record of 35–9 and a Pocket Athletic Conference title. He also coached the Dale baseball team to a PAC title and a record of 26–7; his success built using players such as Roger Kaiser and Bob Reinhart. He moved to Spencer for the 1964–65 season where they had a 19–6 record, winning another Conference title and an IHSAA Sectional title but lost in the Regional finals to Bloomington. The following year, he was hired by Earlham College.

College coach

Harris was coach at Earlham College in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

for nine seasons, building a record of 175–70 (.714) as he led the Quakers to three Conference (2 Hoosier Collegiate Conf. & 1 Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conf) titles and two Top-12 rankings. His best seasons were 1967–68 when they were ranked 6th in the NAIA final polls with a 25–3 record, making him a finalist for NAIA national coach of the year, and in 1970–71, when the Quakers achieved a record of 24–5. In that year they won the HBCC and reached the National tournament, losing in the 2nd round. He remains, today, as the Earlham coaching leader in wins and winning percentage. He led the Quakers to 15 conference or tournament titles during his tenure.

Professional coach

Harris coached seven summers in the Superior League of Puerto Rico while at Earlham, winning three national titles while coaching against various ABA, NBA and NCAA coaches. He coached the Iberia Superstars of the European Professional Basketball League in early 1975. After becoming acquainted with

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

head coach Tom Nissalke, he was invited into the professional ranks in 1975 as an assistant coach for Nissalke at the

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA). When that franchise folded, Nissalke and Harris were hired as head and assistant coach, respectively, for the NBA's

at the start of the 1976–77 season. They won the Central Division that year, Nissalke earning Coach of the Year honors. When Nissalke was let go by the club after the 1979 season, Harris was asked to take over head coaching duties for the 1979–80 season. Harris led the Rockets to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

in the 1981 season, where they were defeated by the

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four games to two in Larry Bird's first championship. Hall of Famer Moses Malone made Harris the Rockets' winningest coach in the first three years with 128 wins and three trips to the playoffs, but when Philadelphia acquired Malone in free agency, the Rockets sacrificed the season to get Ralph Sampson in the draft. Not signing any of their own free agents, the Rockets finished last and Harris was replaced with Bill Fitch. Don Nelson hired Harris for the

team, where he became head coach four years later when Nelson left for Golden State after experiencing a rift with Bucks owner Herb Kohl. A year later Harris was also named Vice President of Basketball Operations. Harris would resign from his coaching position near the beginning of the 1991–92 season, and then a few months later step down as Vice President. After his stint with the Bucks, Harris became head coach of the

, winning

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who l ...

honors in 1994–95, winning 48 games a year removed from being in the NBA lottery. In his four full seasons the Lakers won more each successive season, following 48 wins with 53, 56 and 61. In his third season the Lakers acquired 18-year-old

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

and 24-year-old

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

. Despite being the youngest team in the league and O'Neal missing 53 games due to injuries those two seasons, the Lakers eliminated the 61-win Seattle SuperSonics in the playoffs before being eliminated by the

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with Karl Malone and John Stockton in the 1997–98 season. The Lakers fired Harris after leading them to a 6–6 start at the beginning of the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season following a loss to the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

. Harris was an assistant coach for the

from 2000 to 2007. On July 3, 2008, the ''

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'' reported that Harris agreed to become an assistant coach for the

along with former Charlotte Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and longtime NBA assistant Bob Ociepka. Along with Bickerstaff and Ociepka, Harris was expected to help establish a veteran presence on the coaching staff and help rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro. In June 2009, it was reported that Harris would step down as assistant coach to the Bulls, and retire after a career spanning 50 years. On November 30, 2009, after the

had lost their first 18 games and removed coach Lawrence Frank, GM Kiki VanDeWeghe asked Harris to come help him as he took over the coaching reins. Harris stayed until the week before the All-Star game and announced he would not continue on the rest of the season. He returned to his home in the Dallas area to be the General Manager of the Texas Legends 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, ...

, the Mavericks minor league affiliate. On October 3, 2011, it was announced that Harris would take over as the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks'

affiliate the Texas Legends. At age 74 he was the oldest head coach in the history of the NBA system. The following year, he returned to being GM and Eduardo Najera was named head coach. Currently Harris is the Vice President of the Legends. Starting with the 2017–2018 season, he is serving as a pregame and postgame analyst on Mavs Live on

Fox Sports Southwest FanDuel Sports Network Southwest is a Texas-based regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of profe ...

International

Harris coached seven seasons in Puerto Rico's National Superior League (1969–75), posting a 176–61 record and winning three national championships (1973–75). His club team, the Bayamón Vaqueros, won bronze in the FIBA Will Jones Cup in 1972 in São Paulo Brazil, the championships for World Club team. He also served as head coach of the National Team for the CentroBasket games in El Salvador in 1974, winning the first international gold in Puerto Rico's history. He also coached the team to a silver in the FIBA Copa do America X Europa in São Paulo, Brazil in 1974. In 1994, he served as consultant for Canada and assisted head coach, Ken Shields, in the World Games in Toronto. He was an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich with the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal. The team was handicapped by only using college players as there was a lockout in the NBA. Harris also served as the first foreigner to become coach of the Chinese national men's team, where he coached NBA All-Star center

Yao Ming Yao Ming ( zh, c=姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Baske ...

and led China to a surprising upset victory over

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

in the 2004 Athens Olympic basketball tournament. In the fall of 2011, Harris assisted coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

with the Dominican Republic national team. They won bronze in 2011 FIBA Americas Championship in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, Argentina (the first major basketball medal in the Dominic Republic's history). In winning the bronze medal they qualified for the 2012 World Olympic qualifier in Caracas, Venezuela. They finished fourth, thus missing to qualify for the Olympics by one game in both years. They did win the gold medal at the CentroBasket Games held in Puerto Rico prior to the World Qualifier, beating the host time for the first time ever on their home court. In 2010, he was awarded the Jerry Colangelo Award for Leadership and character on and off the court at the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. In 2014, he received the Coach John Wooden "Keys to Excellence" Award the NCAA Final Four in Dallas. He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame as well as those of Milligan College and Earlham College.

Personal life

Harris is the father of five children including Golden State Warriors Assistant General manager Larry Harris. Harris is a devout Christian and is involved in several Christian organizations, among those organizations is the Del and Ann Harris Foundation, which promotes Christian education and missions.

Legacy

On February 15, 2019, Harris was named as one of two 2019 recipients of the

John Bunn Award The John Bunn Award—in full, the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award—is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and ...

(with Harry Glickman), awarded by the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

as a lifetime achievement honor for those "whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional and/or the international game." On April 2, 2022, Harris was announced as one of sixteen members to be inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

for the Class of 2022 and inducted September 10, 2022.

Acting

Harris appeared in some minor roles in '' Space Jam'', ''Over the Top'', '' In the House'', and '' Diagnosis Murder''.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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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 ...

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D-League

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Awards

Harris has been inducted into the Plainfield High School Hall of Fame, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Milligan College Hall of Fame, and the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

Hall of Fame. On April 2, 2022, he was elected to the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Del Harris bio on NBA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Del 1937 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Baloncesto Superior Nacional coaches Chicago Bulls assistant coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Earlham Quakers baseball coaches Earlham Quakers men's basketball coaches Forwards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets assistant coaches Houston Rockets head coaches Los Angeles Lakers head coaches Milligan Buffaloes men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks executives Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New Jersey Nets assistant coaches Olympic coaches for China People from Orange County, Indiana People from Plainfield, Indiana People from Spencer County, Indiana Texas Legends coaches Utah Stars coaches 20th-century American sportsmen