 Pierce in 2016 | |
| Indiana Pacers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Lead assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1976-05-11)May 11, 1976 (age 48) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Yerba Buena (San Jose, California) |
| College | Santa Clara (1994–1998) |
| NBA draft | 1998:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1998–2002 |
| Coaching career | 2003–present |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1998–1999 | Billings RimRockers |
| 1999 | Soles de Jalisco |
| 2000 | Mount Gambier Pioneers |
| 2001–2002 | SV 03 Tübingen |
| As a coach: | |
| 2003–2007 | Santa Clara (assistant) |
| 2007–2010 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
| 2010–2011 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2011–2013 | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
| 2013–2018 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| 2018–2021 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2021–present | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
Lloyd Daniel Pierce (born May 11, 1976)[1][2] is an Americanbasketball coach who serves as the lead assistant coach for theIndiana Pacers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously coached for thePhiladelphia 76ers,Memphis Grizzlies,Cleveland Cavaliers,Golden State Warriors, andAtlanta Hawks. In addition to coaching, he has also played internationally.
Pierce made the varsity ofYerba Buena High School as a freshman in 1990. He loved playing defense and was considered one of the best-ever players from the San Jose area. He earned a full basketball scholarship toSanta Clara University.
With future NBA playersSteve Nash andMarlon Garnett, the Santa Clara Broncos made theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament three times in four years from 1993 to 1996. Pierce helped guide the Broncos to the 1995 and 1996 NCAA tournaments (his freshman and sophomore seasons), advancing to the NCAA 2nd Round in 1996.[3] He was an honorable mention for all-West Coast Conference and averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game during his college playing years.[4]
Pierce played professionally for four seasons in Mexico, Australia, Germany, and Turkey.[4][5]
Pierce started coaching by serving as a volunteer for the position of director of basketball operations at Santa Clara in the 2002–03 season. He was part ofDick Davey's staff until 2007.[4] In 2016, he would become a finalist for the Santa Clara University Broncos head coaching job.[3]
Pierce served as the coordinator for player development for theCleveland Cavaliers from 2007 to 2010.
Pierce was an assistant coach with theGolden State Warriors during the2010–11 season under head coachKeith Smart.
Pierce began coaching theMemphis Grizzlies in 2011 and worked under head coachLionel Hollins.[6] He was also part of the player development staff.
Pierce joined thePhiladelphia 76ers just before the2013–14 season.[7] He would be involved with the team throughout the next few seasons, becoming in charge of the team's defense and being involved in playcalling during timeouts.[3]
On May 11, 2018, Pierce was hired by theAtlanta Hawks as head coach.[1][8] The Hawks fired Pierce on March 1, 2021, after the team's 14–20 start to the season.[9][10]
Following his departure from Atlanta, Pierce was hired as the lead assistant coach for theIndiana Pacers.[11]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 2018–19 | 82 | 29 | 53 | .354 | 5th inSoutheast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Atlanta | 2019–20 | 67 | 20 | 47 | .299 | 5th in Southeast | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Atlanta | 2020–21 | 34 | 14 | 20 | .412 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 183 | 63 | 120 | .344 | — | — | — | — | |||
Pierce graduated fromSanta Clara University with a degree in business management. After graduation, he was a special education teacher for Pinnacle Academy in Santa Clara and also worked for a local financial services firm.[4]
He married his wife Melissa in 2015[3] and the two first had a child in 2018.[5] Pierce missed three games of the 2020–21 season due to birth of his second child.[12]
On Friday, his 42nd birthday...
The Hawks again had assistant coach Nate McMillan running the team. Coach Lloyd Pierce missed the last two games for the birth of his second child, but was sidelined this time for health and safety protocols. He is expected to be back for Tuesday's game at Cleveland.