 Clifford in 2020 | |
| Phoenix Suns | |
|---|---|
| Position | Coaching advisor |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1961-09-17)September 17, 1961 (age 64) Island Falls, Maine, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | North Country Union (Newport, Vermont) |
| College | Maine–Farmington (1979–1983) |
| Coaching career | 1983–2024 |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 1983–1985 | Woodland HS |
| 1985–1989 | Saint Anselm (assistant) |
| 1989–1990 | Fairfield (assistant) |
| 1990–1994 | Boston University (assistant) |
| 1994–1995 | Siena (assistant) |
| 1995–1999 | Adelphi |
| 1999–2000 | East Carolina (assistant) |
| 2001–2003 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| 2003–2007 | Houston Rockets (assistant) |
| 2007–2012 | Orlando Magic (assistant) |
| 2012–2013 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 2013–2018 | Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets |
| 2018–2021 | Orlando Magic |
| 2022–2025 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2025–present | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American professionalbasketball coach and executive who serves as a coaching advisor for thePhoenix Suns of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as the head coach of theCharlotte Hornets andOrlando Magic.
Born inIsland Falls, Maine, Clifford grew up inMattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved toVermont.[1] He played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach atNorth Country Union High School inNewport, Vermont.[2][3]
Clifford attended theUniversity of Maine at Farmington, where he playedcollege basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, he was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He graduated with a degree inspecial education.[4]
After graduating from college, Clifford became a teacher atWoodland High School in Maine. He also gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as theirhead coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments.[2][5] He then served as an assistant coach atSt. Anselm College,Fairfield University,Boston University andSiena College. In 1995, he assumed the head coaching duties atAdelphi University and coached for four seasons leading his team to four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, an 86–36 (.705) record and four consecutive 20-win seasons. He was the first coach in the school's history with back-to-back 20-plus-win seasons.[5]
Clifford became an NBA assistant coach with theNew York Knicks andHouston Rockets underJeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. He then was an assistant forStan Van Gundy with theOrlando Magic.[2] He considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors.[6] He reached the NBA playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the NBA Finals in 2009.
Clifford then joined theLos Angeles Lakers in2012–13 as an assistant.[7]
On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by theCharlotte Bobcats to be their head coach.[8]
Clifford implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning theCharlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the NBA in that category. He led the Bobcats to the2014 NBA playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43–39 record. The two years prior to him joining the Bobcats only had a combined total of 28 wins. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7–1 record leading to the playoffs. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting in his first year. On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Clifford would not coach indefinitely to deal with his health issue.[9][10] On January 11, 2018, the Hornets announced that Clifford was medically cleared to return to coaching[11] after a 21-game absence after dealing withsleep deprivation.[12] After the2017–18 regular season, he was fired as head coach on April 13, 2018, after five seasons coaching the team to a 196–214 record total.[13]
On May 30, 2018, Clifford was named the head coach of theOrlando Magic.[14]
The Magic started the 2018–19 season by splitting their first 24 games before falling 11 games under .500 after a 126–117 loss to theOklahoma City Thunder.[15] Despite the dismal start, Clifford led the Magic on a dramatic turnaround. On April 7, 2019, Orlando defeated theBoston Celtics 116–108 to clinch their first playoff berth since the2011–12 season.[16] The win also clinched the Magic's firstSoutheast Division title since the2009–10 season. This was the Magic's first playoff appearance since tradingDwight Howard to theLos Angeles Lakers in 2012,[17] ending the longest playoff drought in franchise history.[18]
On June 5, 2021, Clifford and the Magic decided to part ways.[19]
After the2021–22 NBA season concluded, the Hornets re-hired Clifford as their head coach on June 24, 2022.[20]
On April 3, 2024, the Hornets announced that Clifford would step down as head coach at the end of the2023–24 season and move into a front-office advisory role.[21]
On August 13, 2025, thePhoenix Suns hired Clifford to serve as a coaching advisor under head coachJordan Ott.[22]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelphi Panthers(New York Collegiate Athletic Conference)(1995–1999) | |||||||||
| 1995–96 | Adelphi | 23–7 | 17–5 | 2nd | NCAA D-II first round | ||||
| 1996–97 | Adelphi | 21–9 | 17–5 | 3rd | NCAA D-II first round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Adelphi | 22–8 | 18–4 | 3rd | NCAA D-II first round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Adelphi | 20–12 | 14–8 | 3rd | NCAA D-II Sweet 16 | ||||
| Adelphi University: | 86–36 (.705) | 66–22 | |||||||
| Total: | 86–36 (.705) | ||||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 2013–14 | 82 | 43 | 39 | .524 | 3rd inSoutheast | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost infirst round |
| Charlotte | 2014–15 | 82 | 33 | 49 | .402 | 4th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 2015–16 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Southeast | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost infirst round |
| Charlotte | 2016–17 | 82 | 36 | 46 | .439 | 4th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 2017–18 | 82 | 36 | 46 | .439 | 3rd in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Orlando | 2018–19 | 82 | 42 | 40 | .512 | 1st in Southeast | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost infirst round |
| Orlando | 2019–20 | 73 | 33 | 40 | .452 | 2nd in Southeast | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost infirst round |
| Orlando | 2020–21 | 72 | 21 | 51 | .292 | 5th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 2022–23 | 82 | 27 | 55 | .329 | 5th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 2023–24 | 82 | 21 | 61 | .256 | 4th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 801 | 340 | 461 | .424 | 21 | 5 | 16 | .238 | |||
With the win, Orlando ended the longest play-off drought in franchise history.
