Patrick John Burke (born December 14, 1973) is an Irish 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 is currently the men's basketball head coach for

Beacon College Beacon College is a private college in Leesburg, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1989 and designed with curriculum and support services to serve students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other specific learning disabilities. Beacon College ...

. He played in 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) for three seasons between 2002 and 2007, for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

and 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 ...

. To date, he is the only Irishman to have played in the

NBA 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 ...

. He also played in Europe, mainly in Greece and Spain, before ending his career with

Asseco Prokom Sopot Arka Gdynia, also known as AMW Arka Gdynia for sponsorship reasons, is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish Polish Basketball League, PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from Akademią Marynarki ...

. He was a co-captain of the senior Ireland national team and also represented his country at the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

Early life

Burke was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. Burke and his family moved from

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

in Ireland, to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

in the United States when he was three years old. Burke played high school basketball at Mariner High School in

Cape Coral, Florida Cape Coral is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957, the city's population had grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 census, a 26% increase from 154,309 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-most p ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

with the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

from 1993 to 1997.

Professional career

NBA

After not being drafted out of

in 1997, Burke became the first Irish-born player in

history when he signed a contract with the

in 2002. He played in 62 games with them, averaging 4.3 points and 2.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. He did not play in the NBA during the

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 2003–04 NBA season was the culmination of ...

, or the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004, and ended on June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending champion Detroit Pistons, 4� ...

. In his return to the NBA, he played for the

for two seasons. He was also in training camp with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in 2007 before being released.

Europe

Burke was a

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

champion with

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

in the 1999–00 season and he also helped the "Greens" to win three consecutive Greek League titles from 1999 to 2001. In Europe, he also played with the Spanish clubs Tau Ceramica,

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, and with

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi (), also known as Amarousio (), is a city and a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens urban area, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was '' Athmonon'' () and it r ...

in Greece. He helped Real to the final of the

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

(now called EuroCup) in 2004 and to the Spanish League title in 2005. In November 2007, Burke signed with Russian club

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

and helped the team win their first Russian Cup title. Burke averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 211 career games played over all of the different European leagues that he competed in. In 2008, he moved to the Polish club

and he helped the team to win

the league ''The League'' is an American television sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football l ...

's title.

Coaching

Pat Burke was named the new men's basketball head coach at

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in Lake County, Florida, Lake County, Florida, United States. As of 2020, the population had exactly 27,000 residents. Leesburg is in central Florida, between Lake Harris (Florida), Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head o ...

in March 2025. Burke succeeds

Sam Vincent James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He is the current coach of MBB of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Vincent was Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 1981, while playing with ...

, who coached the Beacon NaviGators/Blazers from 2022-2025 and helped the athletic program achieve

USCAA The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) is a national organization for the intercollegiate athletic programs of 72 mostly small colleges, including community/junior colleges, across the United States. The USCAA holds 15 national ...

membership. Burke has had ties with Beacon College since 2015 when he pitched the idea to begin a summer program at the school for

Saudi Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia See also *Saud (disambiguation) The House of Saud The H ...

and other international students. He is also the director of athletics.

NBA Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 62 , , 8 , , 12.6 , , .382 , , .143 , , .690 , , 2.4 , , .4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 42 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .496 , , .286 , , .619 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 23 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .354 , , .273 , , .615 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 127 , , 8 , , 10.2 , , .408 , , .250 , , .663 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .600 , , - , , .833 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .2 , , - , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 3 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .500 , , .500 , , .000 , , .7 , , - , , - , , .3 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 3 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .500 , , - , , - , , .3 , , - , , - , , .3 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .563 , , .500 , , .714 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.0

EuroLeague

Regular Season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

TAU Cerámica Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D commonly known as Saski Baskonia () and also simply as Baskonia, is a professional basketball team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. History 1959–1969 ...

, 34 , , - , , 24.9 , , .616 , , - , , .700 , , 6.4 , , .4 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", Maroussi Telestet , 26 , , - , , 31.0 , , .577 , , .000 , , .704 , , 9.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", Auna Gran Canaria , 20 , , - , , 20.4 , , .509 , , .395 , , .727 , , 5.4 , , .3 , , .7 , , .6 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , - , , 22.9 , , .531 , , .500 , , .571 , , 5.2 , , .5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , - , , 19.0 , , .515 , , .600 , , .674 , , 4.4 , , .5 , , .5 , , .7 , , 7.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , - , , 22.9 , , .517 , , - , , .667 , , 6.6 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , - , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , - , , 12.3 , , .587 , , .000 , , .538 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .4 , , - , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–2000 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , - , , 17.3 , , .632 , , - , , .605 , , 4.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , - , , 12.0 , , .635 , , - , , .696 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", Maroussi Telestet , 14 , , - , , 29.0 , , .537 , , - , , .722 , , 9.2 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , - , , 25.0 , , .551 , , .111 , , .667 , , 6.7 , , .4 , , .9 , , .6 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , - , , 17.1 , , .510 , , .000 , , .680 , , 4.4 , , .4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , - , , 12.1 , , .350 , , .000 , , .875 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008-09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , - , , 23.9 , , .508 , , .273 , , .694 , , 6.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , .5 , , 10.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , - , , -

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 28 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .480 , , - , , .500 , , 2.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , .9 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 29 , , 15 , , 22.1 , , .532 , , .333 , , .642 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995-96 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 32 , , 31 , , 28.1 , , .481 , , .241 , , .649 , , 8.7 , , .9 , , .5 , , 1.4 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996-97 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 31 , , 25 , , 25.6 , , .474 , , .154 , , .645 , , 7.0 , , .7 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 120 , , 71 , , 22.7 , , .491 , , .222 , , .631 , , 6.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , 8.9

Coaching

References

External links

*
Euroleague.net ProfileACB.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Pat 1973 births Living people Arka Gdynia (basketball) players Auburn Tigers men's basketball players BC Khimki players CB Gran Canaria players Centers (basketball) Greek Basket League players Ireland men's national basketball team players Irish expatriate basketball people in Greece Irish expatriate basketball people in Poland Irish expatriate basketball people in Russia Irish expatriate basketball people in Spain Irish expatriate basketball people in the United States Irish men's basketball players Liga ACB players Maroussi B.C. players Orlando Magic players Panathinaikos B.C. players Phoenix Suns players Real Madrid Baloncesto players Saski Baskonia players Sportspeople from County Dublin Undrafted NBA players