 Del Negro in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1966-08-09)August 9, 1966 (age 59) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | NC State (1984–1988) |
| NBA draft | 1988: 2nd round, 29th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Sacramento Kings |
| Playing career | 1988–2001 |
| Position | Point guard /shooting guard |
| Number | 15, 8 |
| Coaching career | 2008–2013 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1988–1990 | Sacramento Kings |
| 1990–1992 | Benetton Treviso |
| 1992–1998 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1999 | Teamsystem Bologna |
| 1999–2000 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2000–2001 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2001 | Phoenix Suns |
Coaching | |
| 2008–2010 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2010–2013 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 7,038 (9.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,810 (2.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,484 (3.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He was thehead coach of theNational Basketball Association'sChicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and theLos Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. Del Negro is currently an analyst withNBA TV.
Del Negro was born on August 9, 1966, inSpringfield, Massachusetts. His father, Vince, was a two-time junior college All-American, and taught his son to play basketball at a young age. Vinny made the varsity basketball team during his freshman year atCathedral High School. He caught the attention of Dennis Kinne, the basketball coach atSuffield Academy, who persuaded him to attend Suffield Academy so that he could play basketball for them. Vinny led Suffield Academy to twoNew England championships. He scored 1,116 points, becoming Suffield Academy's all-time leading scorer.[1]
Del Negro played forJim Valvano atNorth Carolina State University. As a senior, he was selected to theAll-Atlantic Coast Conference team after averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. In his junior season, Del Negro led the Wolfpack to the 1987 ACC Tournament championship and was named tournament MVP.
Del Negro was selected by theSacramento Kings with the 29th pick in the1988 NBA draft.[2] He would play two seasons there before leaving for Italy andBenetton Treviso for another two years (he won theItalian championship in 1992 with over 25 points per game).
Upon his return to the NBA in 1992, Del Negro joined theSan Antonio Spurs where he would play for the next six years. During the1996 NBA Playoffs, Del Negro averaged a career-high 14.3 points a game.[3] In early 1999, he played four games in Italy forTeamsystem Bologna, before signing with theMilwaukee Bucks, where he played in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons. Del Negro was traded to theGolden State Warriors in a three-team deal that also involved theCleveland Cavaliers in June 2000. In January 2001 he was traded to thePhoenix Suns, and was traded to theLos Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal with theOrlando Magic in November, although he would never play for them, and subsequently retired.
Del Negro's career statistics included averaging 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 47.5% from the field and 84.0% from the free-throw line.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | Sacramento | 80 | 2 | 19.5 | .475 | .300 | .850 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 7.1 |
| 1989–90 | Sacramento | 76 | 29 | 24.4 | .462 | .313 | .871 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 9.7 |
| 1992–93 | San Antonio | 73 | 31 | 20.9 | .507 | .250 | .863 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| 1993–94 | San Antonio | 77 | 56 | 25.3 | .487 | .349 | .824 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| 1994–95 | San Antonio | 75 | 71 | 31.5 | .486 | .407 | .790 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 12.5 |
| 1995–96 | San Antonio | 82 | 82* | 33.7 | .497 | .380 | .832 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 14.5 |
| 1996–97 | San Antonio | 72 | 53 | 31.2 | .467 | .314 | .868 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 12.3 |
| 1997–98 | San Antonio | 54 | 38 | 31.9 | .441 | .436 | .796 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 9.5 |
| 1998–99 | Milwaukee | 48 | 7 | 22.8 | .422 | .433 | .800 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| 1999–00 | Milwaukee | 67 | 0 | 18.1 | .471 | .333 | .897 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| 2000–01 | Golden State | 29 | 1 | 13.7 | .333 | .111 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| 2000–01 | Phoenix | 36 | 0 | 14.6 | .528 | .000 | .893 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 4.9 |
| 2001–02 | Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 3.0 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Career | 771 | 370 | 24.9 | .475 | .359 | .840 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 9.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | San Antonio | 8 | 0 | 14.0 | .447 | .222 | 1.000 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| 1993–94 | San Antonio | 4 | 4 | 23.3 | .444 | .500 | .600 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 7.3 |
| 1994–95 | San Antonio | 15 | 15 | 25.5 | .432 | .450 | .833 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 8.7 |
| 1995–96 | San Antonio | 10 | 10 | 37.9 | .460 | .593 | .684 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 14.3 |
| 1997–98 | San Antonio | 9 | 3 | 31.4 | .481 | .200 | .941 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 10.7 |
| 1999–00 | Milwaukee | 5 | 0 | 18.6 | .433 | .000 | .000 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| 2000–01 | Phoenix | 3 | 0 | 8.7 | .571 | .000 | .000 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| Career | 54 | 32 | 25.3 | .454 | .431 | .812 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 8.8 | |
Del Negro worked as a radio commentator for thePhoenix Suns before being promoted to director of player personnel for the Suns in 2006.[4] In 2007, the Suns promoted him to the position of assistantgeneral manager.[5]
On June 9, 2008, multiple media reports indicated Del Negro had agreed to become the new head coach of theChicago Bulls.[6] He became the favorite for the job after former Bulls' coachDoug Collins withdrew his name from consideration.
Two days later, Del Negro was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Bulls, replacingJim Boylan and becoming the 17th head coach in Bulls' history.
Del Negro finished his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls with a 41–41 record, sufficient for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls played a seven-game series against theBoston Celtics, featuring four overtime games with a total of a record seven overtime periods, before losing.
Del Negro finished his second season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls with a 41–41 record, sufficient for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls lost the best of seven series in five games against theCleveland Cavaliers.
The Bulls announced Del Negro's dismissal on May 4, 2010.[7]
On July 6, 2010, multiple league sources confirmed that Del Negro would become the next head coach of theLos Angeles Clippers.[8] At the end of Del Negro's first season with the Clippers, the Clippers finished with a record of 32–50, missing the playoffs.Despite missing the playoffs, the Clippers did have theNBA Rookie of the Year,Blake Griffin.[9] Del Negro and Clippers followed up this mediocre season by acquiring All-Star point guardChris Paul and finishing fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 40–26, one game shy of the division leadingLos Angeles Lakers. The Clippers advanced to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since they moved to Los Angeles in 1984.[10]
A year later, Del Negro led the Clippers to the best season in the franchise's 43-year history. The Clippers notched a franchise-record 17-game winning streak, including a perfect 16–0 mark in December.[11] They won a franchise-record 56 games, their first 50-win season ever, as well as their firstPacific Division title.[10][12] The title was clinched after defeating the Lakers on April 7, which also completed a season sweep oftheir crosstown rivals, 4–0. The franchise had not swept the Lakers since1974–75, when the Clippers were theBuffalo Braves.[13] It was also the first time in 20 years since1992–93 that the Clippers won the season series against the Lakers.[14] However, the Clippers lost in the first round of the playoffs to theMemphis Grizzlies, 4–2, after winning the first two games.[10]
On May 21, 2013, it was announced that the Clippers would not renew Del Negro's contract after its expiration at the end of June.[15] At times during the season, he was criticized for his player rotations. Del Negro had a 128–102 regular-season record in three seasons with the club, and his .557 winning percentage was the highest in club history. He was only the second coach to leave the Clippers with a winning record.[a] However, much of the club's success was credited to Paul and Griffin.[10] According toYahoo! Sports andCBSSports.com, Paul, who was scheduled to become afree agent in the offseason, did not support Del Negro's return. Del Negro felt that Paul had "a lot of say-so" in the team's decisions, and Clippers ownerDonald Sterling said he needed to be supportive of the team's star players.[16][17][18] Paul was upset that he was being blamed, and the Clippers later denied any player involvement in the coaching decision.[19]
Del Negro is of Italian ancestry.[20] His father, Vince, played basketball at theUniversity of Kentucky under legendary coachAdolph Rupp.[21] Del Negro won the 2021American Century Championship.[22]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 2008–09 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 2nd inCentral | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost inFirst round |
| Chicago | 2009–10 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 3rd in Central | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost inFirst round |
| L.A. Clippers | 2010–11 | 82 | 32 | 50 | .390 | 4th inPacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| L.A. Clippers | 2011–12 | 66 | 40 | 26 | .606 | 2nd in Pacific | 11 | 4 | 7 | .364 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| L.A. Clippers | 2012–13 | 82 | 56 | 26 | .683 | 1st in Pacific | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost inFirst round |
| Career | 394 | 210 | 184 | .533 | 29 | 10 | 19 | .345 | |||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) · Basketball Reference