Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1952)

James Francis Xavier O'Brien (born February 11, 1952)[1] is an American basketball coach.

Not to be confused with Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950) or Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951).
Jim O'Brien
Philadelphia 76ers
PositionSenior Advisor
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1952-02-11) February 11, 1952
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolRoman Catholic
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegeSaint Joseph's (1971–1974)
Coaching career1974–2019
Career history
As coach:
1974–1975Wheeling Jesuit (assistant)
1975–1976Pembroke State (assistant)
1976–1977Maryland (assistant)
1977–1978Saint Joseph's (assistant)
1978–1982Oregon (assistant)
1982–1987Wheeling Jesuit
1987–1989New York Knicks (assistant)
1989–1994Dayton
1994–1997Kentucky (assistant)
1997–2001Boston Celtics (assistant)
2001–2004Boston Celtics
2004–2005Philadelphia 76ers
2007–2011Indiana Pacers
2012–2013Dallas Mavericks (assistant)
2016–2019Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Early life and education

O'Brien is the son-in-law of Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay. Born and raised in Philadelphia, O'Brien graduated from Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia in 1970 and St. Joseph's University in 1974. At St. Joseph's, O'Brien started on the Hawks basketball team for three seasons. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland in 1981.[2]

Coaching career

O'Brien was also head coach at Wheeling Jesuit University from 1982 to 1987 and the University of Dayton from 1989 to 1994. He led the Dayton Flyers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his first season, after winning the Midwestern Collegiate Conference; however he led the Flyers to just 10 wins in his last two seasons at the school and was fired after the 1993–1994 season. O'Brien then served as an assistant coach to Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky from 1994 to 1997 and then with the Boston Celtics from 1997 to 2001.

O'Brien was the head coach of the Boston Celtics from 2001–2004, replacing Rick Pitino. He worked to rebuild the struggling Celtics and led them twice to the playoffs. During the 2003–04 NBA season, however, O'Brien consistently fought with Celtics' general manager Danny Ainge over short-term versus long-term goals. Ainge was looking to completely redo the roster, and traded Eric Williams and Tony Battie, two of O'Brien's favorite hardworking players in December 2003. As a result of the conflict, O'Brien shocked everyone in the Celtics community by resigning in January 2004.

He was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2004–05 season. The 76ers made the playoffs in his one season as coach after missing the postseason the previous year, and although O'Brien had a multiyear contract, he was fired. Billy King hired Maurice Cheeks as head coach after Cheeks was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers.[3]

The Indianapolis Star reported on May 31, 2007, that he would coach the Indiana Pacers.[4] He replaced Rick Carlisle, who was fired after four years, when the team failed in 2006–07 to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. On January 31, 2011, Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird relieved O'Brien of his coaching duties. He was replaced by assistant Frank Vogel on an interim basis, who remained as the Pacers' head coach until the 2015–16 season.[5]

In the 2012–13 season, O'Brien was an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. After the season, O'Brien retired from the team to spend more time with family.[6]

In 2016, O'Brien was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach to Brett Brown.

Broadcasting career

O'Brien was also an analyst for ESPN's NBA coverage from 2005 to 2007.

Personal life

O'Brien's son, Jack O'Brien, is a noted internet comedian and podcast host.

Head coaching record

College
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference[7]) (1982–1987)
1982–83 Wheeling Jesuit 17–147–10T–7th
1983–84 Wheeling Jesuit 13–158–99th
1984–85 Wheeling Jesuit 13–158–98th
1985–86 Wheeling Jesuit 18–1010–88th
1986–87 Wheeling Jesuit 13–15unknown10th
Wheeling Jesuit: 74–87 (.460)33–36 (.478)
Dayton Flyers (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1989–1993)
1989–90 Dayton 22–1010–42ndNCAA Second Round
1990–91 Dayton 14–158–64th
1991–92 Dayton 15–155–54th
1992–93 Dayton 4–263–117th
Dayton Flyers (Great Midwest Conference) (1993–1994)
1993–94 Dayton 6–211–117th
Dayton: 61–87 (.412)27–56 (.422)
Total:135–156 (.464)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA
Legend
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
Boston 2000–01 482424.5005th in Atlantic———— Missed Playoffs
Boston 2001–02 824933.5982nd in Atlantic1697.563 Lost in Conf. Finals
Boston 2002–03 824438.5373rd in Atlantic1046.400 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Boston 2003–04 462224.478(resigned)———— —
Philadelphia 2004–05 824339.5242nd in Atlantic514.200 Lost in First Round
Indiana 2007–08 823646.4393rd in Central———— Missed Playoffs
Indiana 2008–09 823646.4394th in Central———— Missed Playoffs
Indiana 2009–10 823250.3904th in Central———— Missed Playoffs
Indiana 2010–11 441727.386(fired)———— —
Career 630303327.481311417.452

References
  1. "76ers quickly find a coach: O'Brien Former St. Joseph's player had success with Celtics". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 21, 2004. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  2. Jim O'Brien Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, National Basketball Association, retrieved June 26, 2010.
  3. "Philadelphia 76ers Fire Coach Jim O'Brien, Hire Maurice Cheeks", InsideHoops.com, May 23, 2005.
  4. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/SPORTS04/70531038
  5. "Pacers relieve O'Brien of coaching duties". NBA.com. January 30, 2011. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  6. MacMahon, Tim (May 3, 2013). "Jim O'Brien retires from Mavs". ESPN. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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