John Jay Humphries (born October 17, 1962) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played in the

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(NBA). He later served as the first head coach of the

NBA D-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, ...

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River v ...

.Bighorns hire Humphries as first head coach
/ref> He last worked as an assistant coach for the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. Humphries played on the top-ranked high school basketball team in the country in 1980. Inglewood High School went undefeated with the help of Humphries, center Vince Kelley, point guard Ralph Jackson, and wing man Angelo Robinson, as they went on to win the national championship that year. Humphries, a 6'3"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, then played four seasons of college basketball for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. By the end of his stint in Colorado, he broke 16 school records including career assists, steals (315), and games played. During the 1982–83 season, he led the nation in steals with a 4.1 per game average and broke the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

record for steals in a season (92,

Darnell Valentine Darnell Terrell Valentine (born February 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Valentine was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Wi ...

, University of Kansas, 1980–81) with 115 in 28 games. He had 10 steals in a non-conference game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jay Humphries - Phoenix Suns

Humphries was selected 13th overall by 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 ...

in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally ...

. He was traded to 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in 1988. Perhaps his best season came in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, when he averaged what would be career bests of 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, as well as 5.8 assists per game. On December 18, 1990, Humphries scored a career high 36 points in a 106–101 win over 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. The Bucks traded him to 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 ...

prior to the 1992–93 season in exchange for Blue Edwards. Part of multiple postseason runs with the Jazz, on April 30, 1994, Humphries led Utah to a 96–84 Game 2 win over the

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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, with a game-leading 25 points. Humphries and the Jazz went on to win the series in four games, and eventually made the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champion

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) ...

. Humphries retired in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

as a member of 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), ...

; he holds career averages of 11.1 points and 5.5 assists per game. In 1998, he joined a team of retired NBA players, including

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

and

Adrian Dantley Adrian Delano Dantley (born February 28, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dantley is a six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection an ...

on a tour of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for a series of exhibition games against the Chinese national team. Humphries began his basketball coaching career as an associate head coach in the Chinese CBA in 2001. He spent another five years in the Korean Professional Basketball League in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

as head coach of the Inchon ET Land Black Slamer, and associate head coach for the Wonju TG Xers. From 2010 to 2012 he served as the head coach for the Foshan Linglions. In the 2012–13 season, he served as the assistant coach for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. For the 2014–15 season, Humphries was hired by the

as an assistant to new head coach

Lionel Hollins Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Holli ...

and helped his team reach the playoffs.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1984–85 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 80 , , 39 , , 25.8 , , .446 , , .200 , , .829 , , 2.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985–86 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 82 , , 33.3 , , .479 , , .138 , , .767 , , 3.2 , , 6.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986–87 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="background:#cfecec;" , 82* , , 82 , , 31.5 , , .477 , , .185 , , .769 , , 3.2 , , 7.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 50 , , 33 , , 31.1 , , .545 , , .188 , , .741 , , 3.0 , , 7.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .370 , , .000 , , .643 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 50 , , 30.4 , , .483 , , .266 , , .816 , , 2.6 , , 5.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 34.8 , , .494 , , .300 , , .786 , , 3.3 , , 5.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 34.1 , , .502 , , .373 , , .799 , , 2.8 , , 6.7 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 71 , , 31.8 , , .469 , , .292 , , .783 , , 2.6 , , 6.6 , , 1.7 , , 0.2 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 78 , , 20 , , 26.1 , , .436 , , .200 , , .777 , , 1.8 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 19 , , 21.6 , , .436 , , .396 , , .750 , , 1.7 , , 2.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 0 , , 12.4 , , .160 , , .667 , , .000 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 8.7 , , .444 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 788 , , 557 , , 29.3 , , .476 , , .297 , , .782 , , 2.5 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 11.1

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1984–85 , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 3 , , 3 , , 30.0 , , .645 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.7 , , 5.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 35.9 , , .495 , , .167 , , .882 , , 3.0 , , 7.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 2 , , 26.3 , , .533 , , .333 , , .769 , , 1.7 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 41.0 , , .531 , , .400 , , .900 , , 2.0 , , 8.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 23.0 , , .333 , , .250 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 3.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 0 , , 22.3 , , .426 , , .318 , , .679 , , 2.3 , , 2.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , 17 , , 26.9 , , .467 , , .268 , , .782 , , 2.3 , , 4.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 9.7

References

External links

College & NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphries, Jay 1962 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Inglewood, California Basketball players from Los Angeles Boston Celtics players Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players Daegu KOGAS Pegasus coaches Inglewood High School (California) alumni Milwaukee Bucks players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Point guards Reno Bighorns coaches Utah Jazz players Wonju DB Promy coaches 20th-century American sportsmen