George Karl

At 73 years old, George Karl has this physical status:

George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and former football player.

He is one of nine NBA coaches to have won 1,000 NBA games, but he has never won a championship.

Early years

Born and raised in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh, Karl starred at Penn Hills High School and graduated in 1969. Under head coach Dean Smith, he competed at the University of North Carolina for three years on the varsity. The Tar Heels finished third in the NIT in his senior season in 1973, with a total record of 25-8. (In 1973, the NCAA tournament featured only 25 teams.)

Karl opted to sign with the San Antonio Spurs, instead being selected in the fourth round of the 1973 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He spent three years as the team's starting point guard, collaborating with George Gervin. Karl played fewer minutes in the NBA over the next two years and then retired as a player in 1978.

Personal life

Coby's son, Karl, played as a starting point guard for Boise State and has since competed in the NBA and other leagues. Coby Karl is a thyroid cancer survivor. Karl also has two children, Kelci and Kaci.

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Early coaching career

Karl spent two years as an assistant coach for the Spurs after his playing career. He was then named head coach of the Montana Golden Nuggets of the Continental Basketball Association. In 1981 and 1983, Karl coached the team to the CBA Finals, winning Coach of the Year both seasons. Despite the franchise's success, the brand was discontinued in 1983.

Karl is a player manager who competed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1983. After the season was over in May 1984, head coach Tom Nissalke was fired, and Karl was promoted to head coach in late July at the age of 33. For the first time in six seasons, the Cavaliers made the playoffs in his first season. The good news did not carry over to the following season; Karl was fired by the Cavaliers in mid-March after a disappointing 25–42 record; Cleveland finished 4–11 under new head coach Gene Littles, with a score of 29-53 (.354). He served as a scout and advisor to the Milwaukee Bucks for the next two months.

Karl was named head coach of the Golden State Warriors in late May 1986; the team went from a record of 30–52 the year before to the playoffs for the first time in ten years. They met the Utah Jazz in a best-of-five series in the first round. Both teams advanced to the playoff semifinals after two close games at home, setting up a crucial fifth game for the Warriors in Utah.

Matched up in the semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three championships in the last seven seasons, but Karl's squad was supposed to be swept by the much more experienced Lakers, but they soon lost the first three games. The Warriors overcame a 12-point fourth quarter deficit and defeated 129–121 thanks to Sleepy Floyd's 51-point victory in game 4. Game 4 was the only game the Lakers lost in the Western Conference playoffs this year, en route to the first of their back-to-back championships.

The Warriors got off to a rough start in 1988, when team leader Joe Barry decided to trade Purvis Short, Sleepy Floyd, and Joe Barry Carroll to save money and get younger. Karl was now without his top four scorers from the 1987 playoff team with Chris Mullin going through alcohol therapy. He resigned from the Warriors with 18 games remaining in the season after being dissatisfied with the team's progress. Despite resigning, there has been rumors that Karl was fired because he signed a non-disclosure deal and received a buyout of his work.

Karl was appointed head coach of the Albany Patroons of the CBA on September 5, 1988, bringing them to a 36-18 record. Karl coached Real Madrid of Liga ACB in 1989. Despite the death of their best player, Fernando Martn Espina, Madrid defeated them 69-17. Real Madrid came third in the Spanish league, were Spanish cup semifinalists, and missed out on the final of the Saporta Cup, Europe's second most coveted cup tournament.

In 1990, Karl returned to coach the Patroons, leading them to a 5-6 record while also winning all 28 home games. Karl was named CBA Coach of the Year for the third time. Karl then returned to Real Madrid for the 1991–92 season, but he didn't return to the NBA until returning to the NBA. Real Madrid captured the Saporta Cup, finished second in the Spanish league, and exited in the Spanish cup's quarterfinals.

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