Melvin Hunt (born December 15, 1969) is an American college assistant basketball coach of

Baylor Bears men's basketball The Baylor Bears men's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I men's basketball competition. The Baylor Bears, Bears compete in the Big 12 Confer ...

. He was previously an assistant coach of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

of 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).

Early life

A native of Tallulah, Louisiana, Hunt earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in education from

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

where he spent four years on the basketball team. He was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter for the Bears from 1987 to 1991 and helped lead his team to both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Following his graduation, Hunt played professional basketball in the Caribbean and Mexico.

Coaching career

Hunt began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Temple High School (TX) before moving to the college ranks where he was the lead assistant coach at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. On 1999 he signed with the

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) ...

, where he spent five years, serving his first two years as a video coordinator/scout and his second two as an assistant coach, before spending his final year as the team's college and international scout. After this, he spent a year as an assistant for the

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 ...

and then five years as an assistant in the

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 ...

; there he helped to lead the Cavaliers to one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. In 2008–09, the Cavs won a franchise and NBA-best 66 games, while Hunt and the coaching staff earned the honor of coaching the Eastern Conference in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. Cleveland also enjoyed great postseason success during Hunt's tenure with the team, reaching the

2007 NBA Finals The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs d ...

, the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals and four consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Semifinals from 2007 to 2010. On 2010, after finishing his contract with Cleveland, he signed with the

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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, spending the next few years as an assistant coach. He was appointed the interim head coach of the Nuggets after Brian Shaw was fired on March 3, 2015. On March 3, he made his coaching debut against 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 ...

, winning 106–95. On June 30, 2015, he joined the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

to become an assistant coach. On June 8, 2018, Hunt was hired by the

as an assistant coach.

Head coaching record

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Personal life

Hunt and his wife have two children.

References

External links

Melvin Hunt profile
at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Melvin 1969 births Living people African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Baylor Bears men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Denver Nuggets head coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets assistant coaches Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches People from Tallulah, Louisiana 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen