Marcus John Iavaroni (born September 15, 1956) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and former head coach of 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 league's Western Conference ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He has also served as an assistant coach for several NBA teams. Iavaroni was a star player at

Plainview, New York Plainview is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located near the North Shore of Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainview post office has t ...

's John F. Kennedy High School in the 1970s and a teammate of

Seth Greenberg Seth Vincent Greenberg (born April 18, 1956) is an American college basketball broadcaster who works as an analyst for ESPN. Prior to taking the position at ESPN he was a coach for 34 years, the last 22 as a head coach. Greenberg has been the he ...

. Iavaroni, who joined the NBA at age 26 after playing four seasons in Europe, was an important role player as a rookie on the 1983

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 ...

championship team, where he started 77 games in the regular season. In the

1983 NBA Finals The 1983 NBA World Championship Series, also known as Showdown '83, was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1982–83 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It was the last NBA Championship Seri ...

, Iavaroni averaged 5.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in a four game sweep. He later played for 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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, where he averaged career-highs of 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 1985, and 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 league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

Iavaroni also played professionally in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via Em ...

and Málaga before retiring in 1992, playing a total of six seasons in Italy and Spain: four after his college career and two following his NBA career. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

. Following his playing career, he was also an assistant coach for two seasons at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...

from 1992 to 1994. The first NBA coaching experience for Iavaroni came in 1997, when he was hired as a

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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

assistant, working mainly with forwards. In 1999, he moved to the front office of the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

as director of player development. Since 2002, he served as an assistant to

Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...

at 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 ...

. On May 30, 2007, Iavaroni was named the head coach of the

. On January 22, 2009, he was fired by the Grizzlies after an 11–30 start to the 2008–09 season.Toronto Raptors hire Marc Iavaroni as assistant to Jay Triano – ESPN
/ref> On June 5, 2009, the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

announced that Iavaroni would become an assistant coach to

Jay Triano A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

. On July 17, 2010, the

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

announced that Iavaroni would become an assistant coach to newly hired

Vinny Del Negro Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the head coach of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. ...

. He remained in that role until 2013.

Head coaching record

, - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 82, , 22, , 60, , .268, , align="center" , 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" , Memphis , align="left" , , 41, , 11, , 30, , .268, , align="center" , (fired), , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , — , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , , , 123, , 33, , 90, , .268, , , , —, , —, , —, , —

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iavaroni, Marc 1956 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baloncesto Málaga players Basket Brescia Leonessa players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball coaches Fulgor Libertas Forlì players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies head coaches Miami Heat assistant coaches New York Knicks draft picks Olimpia Milano players People from Jamaica, Queens People from Plainview, New York Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York Sportspeople from Queens, New York Toronto Raptors assistant coaches Utah Jazz players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players