Jack McKinney (basketball)

Jack McKinney (born c. 1935) is a former college and professional basketball coach. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams--the Los Angeles Lakers, the Indiana Pacers, and the Kansas City Kings. In addition, he served as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Portland Trail Blazers.

McKinney's term as head coach of the Lakers was cut short because he suffered a near-fatal head injury in a bicycle accident in late 1979. McKinney was the first professional coach for future Basketball Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson.

Paul Westhead, McKinney's assistant, succeeded him and led the Lakers to the first of their five NBA championships in the 1980s, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals in six games.

McKinney went on to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award the next season at Indiana, leading the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since the ABA-NBA merger brought the team from the American Basketball Association to the NBA in the summer of 1976.

McKinney also was a longtime coach at Saint Joseph's University where he was also an excellent basketball player and member of the track team. He is a member of the Saint Joseph's and the Big 5 Halls of Fame. He was also named the ECAC Coach of the Year for his 1973-74 season at Saint Joseph's when his Hawks, predicted to have a poor year after graduating Mike Bantom to the NBA and Pat McFarland to the ABA, had a stellar season again winning their conference and earning another trip the NCAA Tournament.

In 2005, McKinney co-authored a book about his experiences at Saint Joseph's, and donates ten percent of the proceeds from that publication to Saint Joseph's. He even adds a personalized message inside the front cover to those who request that when ordering the book through the Hawk Hoop Club at the link below.

External links

• [1]
• Jack McKinney with Robert Gordon, Jack McKinney's Tales from the Saint Joseph's Hardwood: The Hawk will Never Die, Sports Publishing (2005) ISBN 1-58261-929-8