Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach who is the top assistant coach for 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 ...

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 previously served as head coach of 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 ...

of the NBA from 2012 to 2021 before most recently spending an offseason as an assistant coach for 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 ...

of the NBA in 2023. After a playing as a forward in Europe and the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), where he was coached by

George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, he became an assistant with the team before being appointed as a head coach ...

, Stotts became a part of Karl's coaching staff on multiple teams in the CBA and NBA. He later got opportunities as a head coach for 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 ...

and

, before helping 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 ...

win the 2011 NBA championship as an assistant coach.

Early life and college career

Born in

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city population was 40,713. Cedar Falls is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. Cedar Falls along with neighbori ...

, Stotts grew up in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and graduated from Bloomington High School North in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

in 1976. Stotts was a member of the 1976 Indiana All-Star Team. Stotts was a starter in all his four seasons with the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

Sooners basketball team and was an Academic All-American selection in his junior and senior seasons and an All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

selection in his senior season. He graduated from Oklahoma in 1980 with a B.S. in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and a Master in Business Administration from Oklahoma in 1988 on a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA.

Playing career

After averaging 16.9 points per game as a senior at Oklahoma, Stotts was a second-round selection of 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) ...

in the 1980 NBA draft, but he could not find a place on the team. He began his professional playing career in Italy before joining

(CBA) team, the

Montana Golden Nuggets The Montana Golden Nuggets are a former Continental Basketball Association (CBA) team that played from 1980 to 1983. They played their home games at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana, Great Falls. Montana reached the CBA finals in 1981 ...

, in the early 1980s. He played for the team for three seasons. Stotts was selected to the CBA All-Defensive First Team in 1983. He then returned to Europe for several seasons, playing in Spain (

CB Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., (English: Club Basketball Students) known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Liga ACB, Asociación ...

) and France.

Coaching career

Early career with George Karl and the CBA

After retiring as a player, Stotts joined Karl's coaching staff as an assistant with the CBA's

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

in 1990–91. During his first year, he helped lead the Patroons to an all-time CBA-best 50–6 record. Stotts then coached the CBA's Fort Wayne Fury for one season before rejoining Karl as part of his staff on the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA. He then moved with Karl to the

in 1998.

Atlanta Hawks

In 2002, Stotts decided to part ways with Karl and joined the

as an assistant coach. He was promoted to head coach 27 games into the season after

Lon Kruger Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is an American former college and professional basketball coach (sport), coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for K ...

was fired. Stotts led the Hawks to a 24–31 record before he was let go, and returned to the assistant coaching ranks with the

Milwaukee Bucks

In 2005, Stotts became the head coach of the

. He guided them to the playoffs in his first season, but was fired towards the end of his second season on March 14, 2007.

Dallas Mavericks

Stotts was hired as an assistant coach for the

shortly after

Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...

was hired as head coach in September 2008. He was credited for coordinating the Mavericks' offense that was one of the most efficient in the league in 2010–11, when they won the NBA title.

Portland Trail Blazers

The

hired Stotts as their head coach on August 7, 2012. The Blazers went 33–49 in Stotts's first year, losing their final 13 games to drop out of the playoff race. In Stotts's second season, he coached the team to an overall record of 54–28. They beat the

in the first round of the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

with a buzzer-beating three-point shot by

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Dame Time", he played college basketball for the Weber State Wi ...

to advance to the second round, but fell to the eventual NBA champion

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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the second round, ultimately losing in five games. In Stotts's third season, he led the team to an overall record of 51–31. After sustaining key injuries, they fell to 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 Southwest Division of the ...

in the first round of the

, 4–1. Despite losing four of his starters including star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, in the off-season, Stotts's fourth season saw him lead the Trail Blazers to the second round, after defeating 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 ...

in the first. In the second round, Portland played the top-seeded

to a competitive five-game series, but eventually lost 4–1. On May 16, 2016, Stotts agreed to a contract extension with the Trail Blazers. In the 2018–19 season, Stotts led the Trail Blazers to a 53–29 regular-season record and their deepest playoff run in almost 20 years. Portland defeated 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 ...

4–1 and

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 ...

4–3 in the first two rounds, but got swept by the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Conference finals. On June 4, 2021, after falling to the

in six games for their fourth first-round exit in five years, Stotts and the Blazers mutually agreed to part ways. He left the club with the second-most wins in franchise history with 402.

Milwaukee Bucks

On June 28, 2023, Stotts was hired by the

as an assistant coach. On October 19, 2023, one day before the final game of the Bucks’ preseason, he resigned.

Head coaching record

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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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Personal life

Stotts and his wife Jan lived in Lake Oswego, Oregon, while he was with the Blazers. Outside of coaching, he enjoys cycling, traveling and golf.

References

External links

Stotts's biography
on NBA.com

on Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stotts, Terry 1957 births Living people Albany Patroons players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks head coaches Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa CB Estudiantes players Chorale Roanne Basket players Continental Basketball Association coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Houston Rockets draft picks Liga ACB players Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Montana Golden Nuggets players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Pallacanestro Cantù players Sportspeople from Cedar Falls, Iowa Portland Trail Blazers head coaches Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Basketball players from Bloomington, Indiana Forwards (basketball) 20th-century American sportsmen