 Harris with theChicago Bulls in 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Texas Legends | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Vice president | ||||||||||||||
| League | NBA G League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1937-06-18)June 18, 1937 (age 88) Dale, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Plainfield (Plainfield, Indiana) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Milligan (1955–1959) | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1965–2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| 1965–1974 | Earlham | ||||||||||||||
| 1973–1975 | Vaqueros de Bayamón | ||||||||||||||
| 1975 | Iberia Superstars | ||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Utah Stars (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1979 | Houston Rockets (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1983 | Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 1987–1991 | Milwaukee Bucks | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1999 | Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2007 | Dallas Mavericks (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | New Jersey Nets (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Texas Legends | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
As coach:
| |||||||||||||||
| Career coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| NBA | 556–457 (.549) | ||||||||||||||
Record atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an Americanbasketball coach who is currently the vice president of theTexas Legends, theNBA G League affiliate of theDallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA'sHouston Rockets,Milwaukee Bucks, andLos Angeles Lakers, as well as the Legends. He was also an assistant coach for theNational Basketball Association'sNew Jersey Nets,Chicago Bulls,Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Houston Rockets.
Harris is a 1955 graduate ofPlainfield High School inPlainfield, Indiana. He was inducted into the first class of Plainfield High School's Hall of Fame.
Harris graduated fromMilligan College in 1959cum laude with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. He was a 3-time All-Conference basketball player for Coach Duard Walker, in addition to the Honorable Mention Little All-American recognition while at Milligan. In 1965, Harris earned a master's degree in history from Indiana University.[1]
He began his coaching career at the Junior High School level in Johnson City, Tennessee but is best known for his tenure in his native Indiana; in four years in the Indiana ranks he built a record of 54–15 over his last three seasons, winning two Conference titles and a Sectional title.
He coached at three different high schools in Indiana; the Roachdale Hawks, the Dale Golden Aces and the Spencer Cops; his greatest success came at Dale, as he led the Golden Aces to a 2-year record of 35–9 and aPocket Athletic Conference title. He also coached the Dale baseball team to aPAC title and a record of 26–7; his success built using players such asRoger Kaiser andBob Reinhart. He moved to Spencer for the 1964–65 season where they had a 19–6 record, winning another Conference title and anIHSAA Sectional title but lost in the Regional finals to Bloomington. The following year, he was hired by Earlham College.
Harris was coach atEarlham College inRichmond, Indiana for nine seasons, building a record of 175–70 (.714) as he led the Quakers to three Conference (2 Hoosier Collegiate Conf. & 1 Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conf) titles and two Top-12 rankings. His best seasons were 1967–68 when they were ranked 6th in the NAIA final polls with a 25–3 record, making him a finalist for NAIA national coach of the year, and in 1970–71, when the Quakers achieved a record of 24–5. In that year they won the HBCC and reached theNational tournament, losing in the 2nd round. He remains, today, as the Earlham coaching leader in wins and winning percentage. He led the Quakers to 15 conference or tournament titles during his tenure.[2]
Harris coached seven summers in the Superior League of Puerto Rico while at Earlham, winning three national titles while coaching against various ABA, NBA and NCAA coaches. He coached the Iberia Superstars of theEuropean Professional Basketball League in early 1975.[3]
After becoming acquainted withUtah Stars head coachTom Nissalke, he was invited into the professional ranks in 1975 as an assistant coach for Nissalke at theUtah Stars of theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA). When that franchise folded, Nissalke and Harris were hired as head and assistant coach, respectively, for the NBA'sHouston Rockets at the start of the1976–77 season. They won the Central Division that year, Nissalke earning Coach of the Year honors.
When Nissalke was let go by the club after the 1979 season, Harris was asked to take over head coaching duties for the 1979–80 season. Harris led the Rockets to theNBA Finals in the 1981 season, where they were defeated by theBoston Celtics four games to two in Larry Bird's first championship. Hall of Famer Moses Malone made Harris the Rockets' winningest coach in the first three years with 128 wins and three trips to the playoffs, but when Philadelphia acquired Malone in free agency, the Rockets sacrificed the season to get Ralph Sampson in the draft. Not signing any of their own free agents, the Rockets finished last and Harris was replaced with Bill Fitch.
Don Nelson hired Harris for theMilwaukee Bucks team, where he became head coach four years later when Nelson left for Golden State after experiencing a rift with Bucks ownerHerb Kohl.[4] A year later Harris was also named Vice President of Basketball Operations. Harris would resign from his coaching position near the beginning of the 1991–92 season, and then a few months later step down as Vice President.[5]
After his stint with the Bucks, Harris became head coach of theLos Angeles Lakers, winningNBA Coach of the Year honors in1994–95, winning 48 games a year removed from being in theNBA lottery. In his four full seasons the Lakers won more each successive season, following 48 wins with 53, 56 and 61. In his third season the Lakers acquired 18-year-oldKobe Bryant and 24-year-oldShaquille O'Neal. Despite being the youngest team in the league and O'Neal missing 53 games due to injuries those two seasons, the Lakers eliminated the 61-winSeattle SuperSonics in the playoffs before being eliminated by theUtah Jazz with Karl Malone and John Stockton in the 1997–98 season. The Lakers fired Harris after leading them to a 6–6 start at the beginning of the lockout-shortened1998–99 season following a loss to theVancouver Grizzlies.
Harris was an assistant coach for theDallas Mavericks from 2000 to 2007.[6]
On July 3, 2008, theChicago Tribune reported that Harris agreed to become an assistant coach for theChicago Bulls along with formerCharlotte Bobcats head coachBernie Bickerstaff and longtime NBA assistantBob Ociepka. Along with Bickerstaff and Ociepka, Harris was expected to help establish a veteran presence on the coaching staff and help rookie head coachVinny Del Negro.[7] In June 2009, it was reported that Harris would step down as assistant coach to the Bulls, and retire after a career spanning 50 years.[8]
On November 30, 2009, after theNew Jersey Nets had lost their first 18 games and removed coachLawrence Frank, GMKiki VanDeWeghe asked Harris to come help him as he took over the coaching reins. Harris stayed until the week before the All-Star game and announced he would not continue on the rest of the season. He returned to his home in the Dallas area to be the General Manager of theTexas Legends of theNBA Development League, the Mavericks minor league affiliate.
On October 3, 2011, it was announced that Harris would take over as the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks'NBA Development League affiliate the Texas Legends. At age 74 he was the oldest head coach in the history of the NBA system. The following year, he returned to being GM andEduardo Najera was named head coach. Currently Harris is the Vice President of the Legends.[9]
Starting with the 2017–2018 season, he is serving as a pregame and postgame analyst on Mavs Live onFox Sports Southwest.
Harris coached seven seasons in Puerto Rico'sNational Superior League (1969–75), posting a 176–61 record and winning three national championships (1973–75). His club team, the Bayamón Vaqueros, won bronze in the FIBA Will Jones Cup in 1972 in São Paulo Brazil, the championships for World Club team. He also served as head coach of the National Team for the CentroBasket games in El Salvador in 1974, winning the first international gold in Puerto Rico's history. He also coached the team to a silver in the FIBA Copa do America X Europa in São Paulo, Brazil in 1974.
In 1994, he served as consultant for Canada and assisted head coach, Ken Shields, in the World Games in Toronto.
He was an assistant coach underRudy Tomjanovich with theUS national team in the1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal. The team was handicapped by only using college players as there was a lockout in the NBA.[10]
Harris also served as the first foreigner to become coach of theChinese national men's team, where he coached NBA All-Star centerYao Ming and led China to a surprising upset victory overSerbia and Montenegro in the2004 Athens Olympic basketball tournament.
In the fall of 2011, Harris assisted coachJohn Calipari with theDominican Republic national team. They won bronze in2011 FIBA Americas Championship inMar del Plata, Argentina (the first major basketball medal in the Dominic Republic's history). In winning the bronze medal they qualified for the 2012 World Olympic qualifier in Caracas, Venezuela. They finished fourth, thus missing to qualify for the Olympics by one game in both years. They did win the gold medal at the CentroBasket Games held in Puerto Rico prior to the World Qualifier, beating the host time for the first time ever on their home court.
In 2010, he was awarded the Jerry Colangelo Award for Leadership and character on and off the court at the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. In 2014, he received the Coach John Wooden "Keys to Excellence" Award the NCAA Final Four in Dallas.
He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame as well as those of Milligan College and Earlham College.
Harris is the father of five children including Golden State Warriors Assistant General managerLarry Harris.[11]
Harris is a devout Christian and is involved in several Christian organizations, among those organizations is the Del and Ann Harris Foundation, which promotes Christian education and missions.[12]
On February 15, 2019, Harris was named as one of two 2019 recipients of theJohn Bunn Award (withHarry Glickman), awarded by theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a lifetime achievement honor for those "whose outstanding accomplishments have impacted the high school, college, professional and/or the international game."[13]
On April 2, 2022, Harris was announced as one of sixteen members to be inducted into theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the Class of 2022 and inducted September 10, 2022.[14]
Harris appeared in some minor roles inSpace Jam,Over the Top,In the House, andDiagnosis Murder.[15]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earlham Quakers(NAIA independent)(1965–1966) | |||||||||
| 1965–66 | Earlham | 14–8 | |||||||
| Earlham Quakers(Hoosier College Conference / Hoosier–Buckeye Conference)(1966–1975) | |||||||||
| 1966–67 | Earlham | 15–9 | 6–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1967–68 | Earlham | 25–3 | 11–1 | 1st | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| 1968–69 | Earlham | 18–8 | 9–3 | 2nd | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| 1969–70 | Earlham | 22–8 | 10–2 | 2nd | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| 1970–71 | Earlham | 24–5 | 7–1 | 1st | NAIA Second Round | ||||
| 1971–72 | Earlham | 21–9 | 7–1 | 1st | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| 1972–73 | Earlham | 17–11 | 10–6 | 3rd | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| 1973–74 | Earlham | 19–9 | 10–6 | 3rd | NAIA District 21 Playoffs | ||||
| Earlham: | 175–70 | 70–26 | |||||||
| Total: | 175–70 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 1979–80 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 2nd in Central | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| Houston | 1980–81 | 82 | 40 | 42 | .488 | 2nd in Midwest | 21 | 12 | 9 | .571 | Lost inNBA Finals |
| Houston | 1981–82 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 2nd in Midwest | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost inFirst round |
| Houston | 1982–83 | 82 | 14 | 68 | .171 | 6th in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Milwaukee | 1987–88 | 82 | 42 | 40 | .512 | 4th in Central | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost inFirst round |
| Milwaukee | 1988–89 | 82 | 49 | 33 | .598 | 4th in Central | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| Milwaukee | 1989–90 | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 3rd in Central | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost inFirst round |
| Milwaukee | 1990–91 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Central | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost inFirst round |
| Milwaukee | 1991–92 | 17 | 8 | 9 | .471 | (resigned) | — | — | — | — | — |
| L.A. Lakers | 1994–95 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Pacific | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| L.A. Lakers | 1995–96 | 82 | 53 | 29 | .646 | 2nd in Pacific | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost inFirst round |
| L.A. Lakers | 1996–97 | 82 | 56 | 26 | .683 | 2nd in Pacific | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| L.A. Lakers | 1997–98 | 82 | 61 | 21 | .744 | 1st in Pacific | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | Lost inConference finals |
| L.A. Lakers | 1998–99 | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 1,013 | 556 | 457 | .549 | 88 | 38 | 50 | .432 | |||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Legends | 2011–12 | 50 | 24 | 26 | .480 | 4th in Western | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | 50 | 24 | 26 | .480 | — | — | — | — | — |
Harris has been inducted into thePlainfield High School Hall of Fame, theIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame,[16] the Milligan College Hall of Fame, and theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.[6] On April 2, 2022, he was elected to the National Basketball Hall of Fame.[17]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
