James Donald Rodgers (born March 12, 1943) is an American former

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 team executive.

Life and career

Rodgers was born and raised in

Franklin Park, Illinois Franklin Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,467 at the 2020 census, up from 18,333 at the 2010 census. It was named for real estate broker Lesser Franklin who bought acres of the area when it was a ma ...

, a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

suburb. An all-state player as a high school player in Illinois, Rodgers went on to play for Iowa, where he was a three-year starter on the Hawkeyes basketball team. Originally planning to go into dentistry, Rodgers, who was a pre-dental major, decided to go into coaching. After graduation, he was hired as an assistant by Bill Fitch, then the head coach for the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

basketball team, whose team featured All-America center

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

. Rodgers followed Fitch to 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) when Fitch was hired as the head coach of the expansion

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 ...

in 1970; he would remain with the team for the duration of Fitch's tenure before following him to 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), ...

when Fitch became their head coach for the 1979–80 season. Rodgers remained with the team as an assistant under K. C. Jones, who replaced Fitch following the 1982–83 season, also becoming the team's director of player personnel. While hoping to land the

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 ...

head coaching job in 1987, which went to

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

, Rodgers was promoted to head coach of the Celtics after Jones decided to retire from coaching after the 1987–88 season. He coached the Celtics for two seasons, with the team going 42–40 in 1988–89 (and a playoff berth and quick first-round exit), due to a season where its star player,

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

, missed all but six games due to injury. After the team rebounded to a 52–30 record the following season, Rodgers was fired after a first-round playoff loss to the Knicks in five games. He was hired by the expansion

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in 1991, where for nearly a season and a half, with a young team devoid of talent, the Wolves struggled to a combined record of 21–90, before he was fired in the middle of the 1992–93 season. He served as an assistant on staffs that won six NBA championships (1981, 1984, and 1986 with the Celtics, and 1996, 1997, and 1998 with the

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 ...

, where he reunited with Phil Jackson, who was the team's head coach). During his days as an assistant with the Celtics, he helped coach Celtic players Bird, Kevin McHale,

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

and

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

(plus

Nate Archibald Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/ Kansas City–Omaha King ...

in 1981 and

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...

in 1986). As an assistant for Chicago, he helped Jackson coach championship-winning teams that featured

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with th ...

and

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

Head coaching record

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Jimmy Rodgers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Jimmy 1943 births American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Boston Celtics assistant coaches Boston Celtics head coaches Chicago Bulls assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Living people Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Oak Park, Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen Delta Upsilon members