 Joerger in 2015 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | |
|---|---|
| Title | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1974-02-21)February 21, 1974 (age 51) Staples, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Staples-Motley (Staples, Minnesota) |
| College |
|
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 1997–present |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 1997–2000 | Dakota Wizards (assistant) |
| 2000–2004 | Dakota Wizards |
| 2004 | Cedar Rapids River Raiders |
| 2004–2006 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 2006–2007 | Dakota Wizards |
| 2007–2013 | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
| 2013–2016 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2016–2019 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2020–2023 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| 2024–present | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
As head coach:
As assistant coach: | |
David Joerger (/ˈjeɪɡər/ [YAY-ger];[1] born February 21, 1974) is an American professionalbasketball coach who is an assistant coach for theMilwaukee Bucks of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He was the head coach of theDakota Wizards from 2000 to 2004 and in 2006–2007 in theInternational Basketball Association,Continental Basketball Association, and theNBA Development League, winning championships in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007. He also coached theSioux Falls Skyforce from 2004 to 2006, winning a championship in 2005. In the NBA, Joerger served as head coach of theMemphis Grizzlies from 2013 to 2016, andSacramento Kings from 2016 to 2019.
Joerger playedcollege basketball atConcordia College and Moorhead State (now known asMinnesota State University Moorhead).[2] He played as apoint guard.[3]
Joerger joined theDakota Wizards of theInternational Basketball Association as the team's general manager.[4] He became the team's assistant coach in 1997 and eventually took over as the head coach for the 2000–01 IBA season. Joerger had immediate success as a head coach, leading his team to a 30–10 regular season record. After being down 0–2 in the IBA Finals best-of-5 series, the Wizards came back to defeat theDes Moines Dragons 3–2, winning their first championship.[5]
Joerger remained with the Wizards asIBA,IBL, andCBA teams merged to create the new Continental Basketball Association after the league declared bankruptcy under the ownership ofIsiah Thomas. As a former IBA team, the Wizards were declared "lower-tier" in the 2001–02 season and were given a shorter schedule with two other former IBA teams and an expansion team to make up the National Conference. With Joerger at the helm, the Wizards finished with a league-leading 26–14 record. For his success, Joerger was named the CBA Coach of the Year. After sweeping theFargo-Moorhead Beez 3–0 in the conference finals, Joerger won his first CBA championship as his team defeated theRockford Lightning 116–109 in a winner-take-all championship game.[6]
Joerger continued to have success with the Wizards in the CBA, reaching the conference finals with a league-leading 31–17 regular season record in 2002–03 before losing to theYakima Sun Kings 3–1.[7] Throughout the 2003–04 season, Joerger lost six players to NBA call-ups, which includedSean Lampley,Oliver Miller,Kaniel Dickens,Maurice Carter,Eddie Gill, andRodney Buford.[8] Despite losing talent, Joerger still managed to coach his team to a league-best 34–14 regular season record, and was again named the CBA Coach of the Year.[9] With Dickens and Carter back from the NBA, the Wizards defeated the Rockford Lightning 3–1 in the semi-finals and won their second CBA championship with a 132–129 victory over theIdaho Stampede.[10]
Following another championship season and a stint with theUSBL's Cedar Rapids River Raiders,[11] Joerger left the Wizards for an opportunity to coach theSioux Falls Skyforce. With the Skyforce, a franchise that had missed the play-offs the past few seasons, Joerger had immediate success, guiding them to a 31–17 record and faced off against his former assistant, Casey Owens, and the Dakota Wizards in the conference finals. In 5 games, the Skyforce came out on top and went on to defeat the Rockford Lightning 3–1 for the 2004–05 CBA championship.[12] In the 2005–06 season, despite going 2–0 in a round-robin playoff format based on quarter point percentage, Joerger missed out on just his second championship as a head coach after a 30–18 regular season.
In April 2006, the Skyforce, the Wizards, and theIdaho Stampede made the jump from the CBA to theNBA Development League.[13] In May, Joerger left the Skyforce and returned to the Wizards as the head coach once again. As expected, Joerger had immediate success in the D-League, guiding the Wizards to a league-best 33–17 record. After a first round bye, Joerger's team knocked off the Skyforce 115–113 in a one-and-done semi-final and went on to defeat theColorado 14ers 129–121 in a classic overtime championship game.[14]
With five minor league championships under his belt, theNational Basketball Association finally took notice and Joerger was hired by theMemphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach for the 2007–08 season under head coachMarc Iavaroni. In 2011, underLionel Hollins, Joerger was promoted to lead assistant and took over as the team's defense specialist. The Grizzlies improved in defensive efficiency from 24th overall in 2010 to 9th in 2011, 7th in 2012, and 2nd in 2013.[15]
On June 10, 2013, the Grizzlies organization announced that Lionel Hollins would not be returning as the team's head coach, despite reaching the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.[16] On June 27, 2013, Joerger was hired as the Grizzlies' head coach for the 2013–14 season.[17]
In his first year, Joerger was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month in both January and April.[18][19]
On May 28, 2014, it was announced that Joerger was signed to a 3-year contract extension.[20] On May 7, 2016, Joerger was fired by the Grizzlies after three seasons as the team's head coach.[21]
On May 9, 2016, just two days after being fired by the Grizzlies, Joerger signed with theSacramento Kings to become their head coach.[22] On April 11, 2019, the Kings fired Joerger after the team failed to reach the playoffs in three seasons under Joerger; in his last season as coach, the Kings had their best record since they last reached the playoffs in the2005–06 season.[23][24]
On November 9, 2020, thePhiladelphia 76ers hired Joerger as an assistant coach underDoc Rivers.[25]
A few games into the 2021–2022 season, it was reported that Joerger would be seeking treatment for cancer, and would be away from the team for several weeks.[26]
Shortly before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, Joerger joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as a consultant to head coachJ.B. Bickerstaff.[27]
In January 2024 Joerger was added to the Milwaukee Bucks staff as an assistant coach by Doc Rivers who was brought in as Head Coach of Milwaukee in mid-season. Joerger had previously been an assistant underDoc Rivers in Philadelphia.[28]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | 2013–14 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 3rd inSouthwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost inFirst round |
| Memphis | 2014–15 | 82 | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2nd in Southwest | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| Memphis | 2015–16 | 82 | 42 | 40 | .512 | 3rd in Southwest | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost inFirst round |
| Sacramento | 2016–17 | 82 | 32 | 50 | .390 | 3rd inPacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Sacramento | 2017–18 | 82 | 27 | 55 | .329 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Sacramento | 2018–19 | 82 | 39 | 43 | .476 | 3rd in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 492 | 245 | 247 | .498 | 22 | 9 | 13 | .409 | |||