Royal Terence Ivey ( ; born December 20, 1981) 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 who is an assistant coach for 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) ...

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). He is also the head coach of the South Sudan national team, who he coached at the 2023 World Cup and

2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before spending 10 years in the NBA.

Early life and college

Ivey was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

in the Manhattan borough of New York City and started on the basketball team of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, leading the team to a PSAL championship. He attended Blair Academy for a post-graduate year. Ivey 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 ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, in which he finished as the school's all-time career leader in games started (126).Bucks sign Royal Ivey
September 18, 2007

Professional career

Ivey was selected with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. On September 18, 2007, Ivey signed a one-year contract with the Bucks. On July 24, 2008, Ivey agreed to terms with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

. On June 15, 2009, Philadelphia announced that Ivey declined the player option on his contract for the 2009–10 season, making him an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. However, he re-signed with the 76ers in August 2009. On February 18, 2010, Ivey was traded to 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 ...

along with Primoz Brezec in exchange for Jodie Meeks and Francisco Elson. On July 21, 2010, Ivey signed with 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 ...

. He reached the NBA Finals with the Thunder in 2012, but the team lost to 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. On July 27, 2012, Ivey returned to the 76ers. On September 30, 2013, he signed with 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 ...

. However, he was waived on October 25. On January 16, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the

. On January 26, 2014, his 10-day contract expired and the Thunder chose not to offer him a second 10-day contract. On January 29, 2014, he signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of China for rest of the 2013–14 season.

Coaching career

On September 29, 2014, Ivey was named an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Blue of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

for the 2014–15 season, effectively ending his 10-year playing career. On July 1, 2016, Ivey was elevated from a player development assistant with the Blue to an assistant coach with the

. On June 7, 2018, Ivey joined 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 ...

as an assistant coach to David Fizdale. Ivey remained with the Knicks after Fizdale's firing and served under interim head coach Mike Miller. On November 11, 2020, the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

hired Ivey as an assistant coach under Steve Nash. On July 3, 2023, Ivey was hired by the

as an assistant coach.

South Sudan national team

On May 3, 2021, Ivey signed a contract to become the head coach of the South Sudan national team, representing the youngest country in the world. He coached the team at AfroBasket 2021, the country's first major tournament. Ivey and South Sudan won the country's first AfroBasket game against

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, and eventually reached the quarterfinals where the team was eliminated by defending champions

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Under Ivey's coaching, South Sudan qualified for their first ever World Cup in 2023 after going undefeated in first round qualifying. They went on to earn a first ever Olympic berth at the 2024 games by finishing as the best African team at the 2023 World Cup. Ivey and South Sudan participated at the

, where they won their first game over

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, but went on to lose to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, thus ending their campaign in the preliminary round. Despite their elimination, the team was widely praised by media and competitors for their play.

Personal life

Ivey is named after his grandfather, Roy Allen, who was one of the first African-American stage directors to work in television. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Ivey returned to the University of Texas to finish his degree in applied learning and development. He got married in 2023 to Deanna Herrington.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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Playoffs

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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References

External links

Royal Ivey
at texassports.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivey, Royal 1981 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Manhattan Basketball players from Queens, New York Benjamin N. Cardozo High School alumni Blair Academy alumni Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches Guangdong Southern Tigers players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks players New York Knicks assistant coaches Oklahoma City Blue coaches Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches Oklahoma City Thunder players Philadelphia 76ers players Shooting guards Small forwards South Sudan men's national basketball team coaches Texas Longhorns men's basketball players Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics American expatriate basketball people in China