Robert John Pack Jr. (born February 3, 1969) is an American 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 ...

coach and former player. He last coached the Rwandan club REG of the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

, he played 13 seasons 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).

High school and college career

Pack attended Alfred Lawless High School in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He was a high school teammate of future NBA player Eldridge Recasner and graduated from Lawless in 1987. He then attended Tyler Junior College for two years, transferred to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1989, and graduated with a degree in sociology in 1991. He averaged 13.4 points per game and 5.3 assists in his two seasons at USC.

Professional career

Early career

Pack was not drafted by an NBA team, rather he began his career by being signed as a free agent by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

on September 16, 1991. He made the team by beating out veteran Walter Davis and played 72 games for the Blazers as a rookie, averaging 4.6 points/game in 12.4 MPG as he was entrenched behind veterans

Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the Portland Pilots, University of Portland ...

and

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

. The Blazers went to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

that year, before losing the series, 4–2, to 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 ...

. During the 1992 off-season, after the Blazers signed free agent point guard

Rod Strickland Rodney Strickland (born July 11, 1966) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is currently the head coach at Long Island University. Prior to LIU, he served as the program manager for the NBA G League's prof ...

, Pack was traded to the Nuggets for a 1993 second-round

draft pick Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...

Mid-career

Pack spent three seasons with the Nuggets from 1992–93 until 1994–95, with his minutes and games started increasing each season. On March 18, 1993, Pack set a then-career-high with 27 points while coming off the bench in a 105–101 loss 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), ...

. He was part of a young Nuggets team starring

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

, LaPhonso Ellis and

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Griz ...

that became the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to defeat the first-seeded team as the Nuggets defeated the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

in the first round of the 1994 Western Conference Playoffs. Pack was then traded to the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

for

Doug Overton Douglas M. Overton (born August 3, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Playing career Prior to his NBA career, Overton spent a season with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL. He credits his experience ...

and Don MacLean on October 30, 1995. Injuries slowed Pack during the prime years of his career, as he never played a full 82-game season. In 31 games for the Bullets, Pack averaged 18.1 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.3 rpg and 2.00 spg in what was his best season statistically. Prior to the 1996–97 season he was signed by the New Jersey Nets before being traded mid-season to 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 ...

along with

Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player. A center, he was drafted with the second pick in the 1993 NBA draft and played for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Maverick ...

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward (basketball), power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Br ...

and Khalid Reeves for

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...

Chris Gatling Chris Raymond Gatling (born September 3, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Gatling played for many National Basketball Association (NBA) teams from 1991 to 2002. He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA Wor ...

, Jim Jackson, George McCloud and Eric Montross. Pack remained with the Mavericks through the end of the 1999–00 season, never playing more than the 54 games he played in 1996–97 as injuries slowed his career.

Late career

Pack returned to the Nuggets for the 2000–01 season after being traded by the Mavericks via the

. He played 74 games that season, starting 11 of them as a replacement for starting point guard

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA ...

. The

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 ...

signed him in the off-season and he played 16 games for them in 2001–02. His final two seasons in the NBA were as a veteran backup point guard off the bench for the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

(2002–03) and the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

(2003–04). On October 2, 2005, Pack signed a contract with 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for a tryout with the team. His stint with the Raptors was short-lived as he was cut by the team on October 22. He finished his NBA career and from 2004 to 2005 he played in Žalgiris Kaunas in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Coaching career

In August 2009, Pack joined the New Orleans Hornets as an assistant coach. He became an assistant coach for the

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

the next season. On July 31, 2013, he became an assistant coach for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. On June 22, 2015, he returned to the now

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

as an assistant coach. On October 10, 2018, Pack joined the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

as assistant coach. On February 18, 2022, Pack was announced as the new head coach of the Rwandan club REG ahead of the

(BAL).

Other

Pack was known as one of the game's better dunkers during the first half of the 1990s and one of the more spectacular in-game dunkers of all-time among smaller players, due largely to his outstanding vertical leap and lateral quickness. He finished second in the 1994 NBA

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

during the NBA All-Star Weekend in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

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 ...

, behind

Isaiah Rider Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R. (born March 12, 1971), is an American former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the NBA. Rider was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Alameda. He starred in both basebal ...

. He achieved two

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

s in his career.

Philanthropy

In November 2016, Pack and Percy "

Master P Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...

" Miller formed Team H.O.P.E. NOLA, an acronym for “Helping Our Players Excel.” Its players were twenty at-risk males between the ages of 12–15 and chosen from New Orleans-area schools.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 72, , 0, , 12.4, , .423, , .000, , .803, , 1.3, , 1.9, , .6, , .1, , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 77, , 1, , 20.5, , .470, , .125, , .768, , 2.1, , 4.4, , 1.1, , .1, , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66, , 4, , 20.9, , .443, , .207, , .758, , 1.9, , 5.4, , 1.2, , .1, , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 42, , 32, , 27.2, , .430, , .417, , .783, , 2.7, , 6.9, , 1.5, , .1, , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 31, , 31, , 35.0, , .428, , .265, , .846, , 4.3, , 7.8, , 2.0, , .0, , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 34, , 31, , 34.9, , .407, , .297, , .788, , 2.5, , 9.6, , 1.7, , .1, , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 20, , 11, , 29.9, , .361, , .237, , .849, , 3.0, , 6.4, , 1.8, , .2, , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 12, , 10, , 24.3, , .337, , .500, , .694, , 2.8, , 3.5, , 1.7, , .1, , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25, , 0, , 18.7, , .431, , .000, , .818, , 1.4, , 3.2, , .8, , .0, , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 29, , 22, , 22.9, , .417, , .364, , .808, , 1.4, , 5.8, , 1.1, , .1, , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74, , 11, , 17.0, , .425, , .387, , .766, , 1.9, , 4.0, , .9, , .0, , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 16, , 0, , 15.8, , .368, , .250, , .733, , 1.4, , 3.1, , .8, , .0, , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 28, , 4, , 15.7, , .403, , .000, , .745, , 1.8, , 2.9, , .9, , .0, , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26, , 0, , 8.5, , .423, , .000, , .833, , .7, , 1.0, , .5, , .0, , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 552, , 157, , 20.8, , .425, , .292, , .787, , 2.0, , 4.6, , 1.1, , .1, , 8.9

Playoffs

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

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

, 14 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .222 , , – , , .750 , , .4 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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

, 12 , , 0 , , 27.7 , , .407 , , .300 , , .709 , , 2.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

, 3, , 0, , 3.3, , .200, , .000, , 1.000, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 1.0 , - , 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;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .462 , , – , , 1.000 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 33, , 0, , 13.2, , .383, , .286, , .730, , 1.1, , 1.9, , .7, , .2, , 5.2

Head coaching record

BAL

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

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, 5, , 4, , 1, , , , style="text-align:left;", 1st in Sahara Conference, , 1, , 0, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

Quarterfinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, - class="sortbottom"

References

External links

Robert Pack
profile on NBA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pack, Robert 1969 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball Africa League coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from New Orleans BC Žalgiris players Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves players New Jersey Nets players New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans assistant coaches Point guards Portland Trail Blazers players Tyler Apaches men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players USC Trojans men's basketball players Valencia Basket players Washington Bullets players Washington Wizards assistant coaches

High school and college career

Professional career

Early career

Mid-career

Late career

Coaching career

Other

Philanthropy

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

BAL

See also

References

External links