Rudy Tomjanovich

Tomjanovich in 2009
Personal information
Born	(1948-11-24)November 24, 1948 (age 77) Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school	Hamtramck(Hamtramck, Michigan)
College	Michigan (1967–1970)
NBA draft	1970: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Drafted by	San Diego Rockets
Playing career	1970–1981
Position	Power forward
Number	45
Coaching career	1983–2005
Career history
Playing
1970–1981	San Diego / Houston Rockets
Coaching
1983–1992	Houston Rockets (assistant)
1992–2003	Houston Rockets
2004–2005	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights
As player: 5×NBA All-Star (1974–1977,1979) No. 45retired by Houston Rockets Second-teamAll-American –AP,UPI (1970) Third-team All-American –NABC (1970) 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1969, 1970) No. 45honored by Michigan Wolverines As coach: 2×NBA champion (1994,1995) NBA All-Star Game head coach (1997) Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (2024)
Career playing statistics
Points	13,383 (17.4 ppg)
Rebounds	6,198 (8.1 rpg)
Assists	1,573 (2.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats atBasketball Reference
Career coaching record
NBA	527–416 (.559)
Record atBasketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals Head coach for United States FIBA Basketball World Cup 1998 Athens Head coach Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Head coach

Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professionalbasketball player and coach. He won two NBA Championships with theHouston Rockets (1994, 1995) and coachedTeam USA to the gold medal in men'sbasketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with theSan Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a 5-timeNBA All-Star forward; four consecutive times between1974 and1977, and again in1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981.

On December 9, 1977, during a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Tomjanovich was the victim of a life-threatening punch to his face brought upon him by Lakers power forwardKermit Washington. This ended his season after 23 games; after fully recovering, Tomjanovich played in the NBA for three more seasons.

After about eight years of being an assistant coach, Tomjanovich served as head coach of the Rockets from 1992 to 2003. As head coach, he led the Rockets to two consecutiveNBA championships, in 1994 and 1995. He also coached theLos Angeles Lakers during part of the2004–05 NBA season before resigning; he served as a consultant for the team for 14 years. Tomjanovich had only two losing seasons as a head coach. He was inducted into theNaismith Hall of Fame on May 16, 2021. In 2024, he was scheduled to be included in Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame.^[1]

Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. was born on November 24, 1948, inHamtramck, Michigan, to Catherine (Modich) and Rudolph Tomjanovich Sr.^[2] He is ofCroatian descent.^[3][4] He attended high school in Hamtramck and later theUniversity of Michigan (1967–1970). He was a high school teammate ofABA playerJohn Brisker.^[5]

In college, Tomjanovich setMichigan Wolverines men's basketball career rebounding records that continue to stand.^[6] In 1968 he earned second team All-Big Ten honors, which he followed with first-team honors in 1969 and 1970.^[7] During 1970 he was also an All-American.^[8]

Tomjanovich was selected in the1970 NBA draft as the second overall pick by theSan Diego Rockets (the franchise relocated toHouston in 1971), for whom he would play the entirety of hisNBA career. He was also drafted in both 1970^[9] and 1974^[10] by theUtah Stars of theABA. In his eleven years in the NBA, Tomjanovich had a scoring average of 17.4 points and a rebounding average of 8.1, earning fiveAll-Star Game selections in the process (1974–1977, 1979). He is the fourth-leading scorer in Rockets history behindJames Harden andHall of FamersCalvin Murphy andHakeem Olajuwon. Because his last name was so long, the back of Tomjanovich's jerseys would read "RUDY T.", rather than his 11 character name.

The Rockets retired Tomjanovich's #45 jersey upon the conclusion of his playing career. His collegiate jersey, also #45, was retired by the University of Michigan in 2003.

During a game on December 9, 1977, Tomjanovich was punched byKermit Washington of theLos Angeles Lakers as Tomjanovich ran to stop a fight at center court. The blow shattered Tomjanovich's face and inflicted life-threatening head and spinal injuries, leaving him sidelined for five months.^[11] He eventually made a full recovery and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game the following1978–79 season. The incident and its aftermath are recounted in theJohn Feinstein bookThe Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever, as well as in Tomjanovich's 1997 autobiographyA Rocket at Heart: My Life and My Team. In 1979, a federal jury in Houston awarded Tomjanovich $3.3 million in damages.^[12]

Tomjanovich retired in 1981 and became a scout for two years before being named an assistant coach in 1983. He served as an assistant underBill Fitch andDon Chaney.

Tomjanovich was named the Rockets' interim head coach in February 1992 after Chaney's resignation. After nearly leading the Rockets to a playoff berth, he was then given the job on a permanent basis.

In his first full season on the job (1992–93), Tomjanovich guided the Rockets to the Midwest Division title, making him the first head coach to ever take his team from the lottery to a division crown during his first full season. Building on this success, Tomjanovich led the team to back-to-back NBA championships in1994 and1995; additionally, the Rockets were the only team other than theChicago Bulls to win multiple championships during the 1990s, with their titles being bookended by the Bulls' two runs of three consecutive titles each. On the playoff run to their second title, the Rockets became the lowest seed (sixth) to win one, and the only team in history to defeat the teams with the four best regular-season records in the playoffs. It was on the floor ofThe Summit after they captured their second title that Tomjanovich proclaimed, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!"^[13]

In his 11-plus season tenure as Rockets head coach, he posted a 503–397 (.559) regular-season record and a 51–39 (.567) playoff mark. His career wins and winning percentage are Rockets franchise records. After the 1998–99 season, the Rockets would not make the playoffs for the rest of his coaching tenure, and would consistently finish in the division cellar; Tomjanovich left the team after the2002–03 season when he was diagnosed withbladder cancer (from which he has since made a full recovery^[14]), ending a 33-year association with the Rockets franchise—including its first 32 years in Houston—as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

In2004, Tomjanovich signed a five-year, $30 million contract to replacePhil Jackson as coach of theLos Angeles Lakers.^[15] He resigned after 43 games, citing mental and physical exhaustion unrelated to his past bout with bladder cancer. The Lakers paid him a $10 million settlement, leading to speculation that the Lakers had instead terminated his contract.^[15][16] Tomjanovich stayed with the Lakers as a consultant.

Tomjanovich was well known for his instinctive managerial style and intensity on the bench. Always self-deprecating, he nonetheless heaped tremendous pressure on himself and his assistants to be prepared for each game, several times being hospitalized for exhaustion. After winning back-to-back titles, Tomjanovich deflected much of the praise and eschewed the "genius" label assigned to other champion coaches likeChuck Daly andPhil Jackson. His hands-off, easy-going manner with his players gave him a reputation as a "players coach", and as such veteran players were eager to play on his teams. Among the stars who requested and were granted trades to Houston during his tenure wereClyde Drexler,Charles Barkley, andScottie Pippen.

In 1998, Tomjanovich volunteered to coach the U.S. men's senior basketball team at theFIBA World Championship in Greece. Despite the absence of NBA players due to contract negotiations, Tomjanovich guided the hastily assembled group of players playing in Europe,CBA and college players to the bronze medal.

In light of his outstanding service in coaching at the 1998 Worlds and his stellar professional resume, Tomjanovich was selected to coach the U.S. men's senior team at the2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. Team won the gold medal with an 8–0 record. On February 15, 2006, Tomjanovich was named director of scouting forUSA Men's Basketball.

Tomjanovich has two daughters and one son with his ex-wife Sophie.^[17][18] He resides in Houston, Texas, with his longtime girlfriend, Lisa Marcussen.

Tomjanovich has participated with theTexas Children's Cancer Center to help raise funds for cancer research.

He had a scholarship program with the Tomjanovich foundation, that helped put 100s of students in college.

Tomjanovich is an avid supporter for theHouston Rockets,Houston Texans,Houston Astros,University of Houston, University of Michigan, and Naismith Hall of Fame.

• NBA Champion head coach (1994, 1995)
• Head coach of the gold medalist USA men's basketball team at the2000 Summer Olympics
• Head coach of the bronze medalist USA men's basketball team at the1998 FIBA World Championship
• 5-time All-Star (1974–1977, 1979)
• NCAA All-American (1970)
• All-timeUniversity of Michigan leader in rebounds. Second on U-M all-time list in points per game
• Holds theCrisler Arena single game scoring and rebounding records
• Averaged 17.4 points per game on 50.1% shooting during his NBA career
• Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
• Houston Sports Hall of Fame^[19]
• First Basketball player from the University of Michigan to go into Naismith Hall of Fame.
• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame^[20]

• University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

• Feinstein, John.The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever. Publisher: Back Bay Books.ISBN 0-316-73563-9

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