The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with former NBA beat writer Filip Bondy about Larry Brown winning a gold medal in 1964 as a player, a gold medal in 2000 as an assistant coach, and a bronze medal in 2004 as head coach. Today marks the 16th anniversary of Larry winning the 2004 NBA Finals as head coach of Detroit.
(photo credit: nba.com)
Larry was born/raised in New York: what made him choose North Carolina, and how did he like playing for a pair of Hall of Fame coaches in Frank McGuire/Dean Smith? I do not know what specifically led him there but it was an attractive place for any ballplayer to go: great program, great campus, etc. That was the dream job that he never got: he wanted to succeed Dean Smith but the timing never worked out. He fell in love with the whole aura but never got that job.
He played for team USA in the 1964 Olympics, was an assistant coach in 2000, and was head coach in 2004: what did it mean to him to win a pair of gold medals, and what did it mean to him to win a bronze medal? I can only tell you how disappointing the bronze medal was. Team USA was expected to win everything and had only lost 2 games in Olympic history (both to Russia) before the 2004 Olympics…and then they lost 3 games in 2004! He did not get along with Stephon Marbury and the team did not play defense that well. Tim Duncan was the captain, Dwyane Wade was close to his peak, and they had a young LeBron James. It was more about losing the gold/silver than winning the bronze.
He was an All-Star each year from 1968-1970 (including MVP of the inaugural ABA All-Star Game in 1968) and his 6.7 career APG remains #1 in ABA history: how was he able to be so successful despite playing for 3 different teams in 3 years, and what made him such a great PG? He was the ultimate unselfish player but the ABA was a very volatile league. It was not unusual to be traded around like that: the Nets could not even hold onto Julius Erving! As a coach later on he expected his own PGs to be similarly unselfish.
In the 1980 NCAA tourney title game as coach at UCLA Rod Foster had 16 PTS/6 STL in a 5-PT loss to Louisville: how close did he come to winning a title in his very 1st year in Westwood while starting 2 freshmen, and where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? It hurt terribly, and he then proceeded to make a terrible career error by joining the New Jersey Nets. Part of it was his marriage and part of it was that he was going to make a lot more money. In retrospect I think that he regretted leaving UCLA and should have stuck around at least another year.
In the 1988 NCAA tourney as national COY at Kansas tourney MOP Danny Manning had 31 PTS/13-24 FG/18 REB/5 STL in a 4-PT upset of Oklahoma: did the Jayhawks have a home-court advantage in Kansas City, and what did it mean to him to win a title against a conference rival who had beaten him twice during the regular season? It did not matter who it was against: he hired Danny Manning’s father as his assistant coach and then he rode his franchise player to a title. That was Larry’s big moment, maybe even bigger than winning an NBA title with the Pistons. He loved his “kids”, as he always called them. He did not enjoy the recruiting part but I think that 1988 title was the highlight of his coaching career.
In the 2004 NBA Finals as coach of the Pistons he beat the Lakers to become the only coach to win an NCAA title and an NBA title: how on earth was he able to beat a team that featured Kobe Bryant/Karl Malone/Shaquille O’Neal/Gary Payton/Phil Jackson in his very 1st year in Detroit? Most people will tell you that 2004 was his greatest year of coaching. His team lacked marquee power but to his credit he brought them together and made them gel. He has achieved so much in his career despite making so many stupid moves: after that title he landed with the Knicks but he did not look closely enough at the mess that the franchise/ownership was. There was money involved and the chance to come home: not everyone from New York wants to live in Detroit.
In 2002 he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame: where do those rank among the highlights of his career? They are up there but I have never talked to him specifically about it. I think it would be more of a snub if he was not inducted but I do not think that he ranks them up there with his on-court achievements. He was a guy who just could not stop coaching: he went everywhere to keep coaching despite many health problems that he was battling. He needed that adrenaline and needed to feel relevant by teaching kids how to play basketball.
He remains the only coach in NBA history to lead 8 different teams to the playoffs (Denver/New Jersey/San Antonio/LA Clippers/Indiana/Philly/Detroit/Charlotte): why did he keep changing teams, and how was he able to have so much success in so many different cities? When you are Larry Brown you get to pick and choose where you are going to some extent so you can select the best places but sometimes he overreached. The Knicks were a complete/utter failure for him as well as for many other coaches (Lenny Wilkes/Don Nelson/etc.). His reputation took a hit but he was usually smart enough to find up-and-coming teams with potential.
He has an amazing coaching tree that includes John Calipari/Billy Cunningham/Gregg Popovich/Doc Rivers/Bill Self: what made him such a great mentor, and what role does that play in his legacy? I think it is a pretty good coaching tree. He was good at building relationships but was a warmer person than someone like Hubie Brown. His assistants/players felt that for the most part and he was a father figure to them. The Calipari relationship did not end well but most of his others did.