What American basketball coach, born February 11, 1944 worked as head coach during the 1996–97 Denver Nuggets season?
Bernie Bickerstaff Bernard Tyrone Bickerstaff (born February 11, 1944) is an American basketball coach. He previously worked as the head coach for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, and Los Angeles Lakers. He has also been an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He has served in numerous other NBA front office positions, and has been a consultant for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (born March 28, 1942) is an American former National Basketball Association player and head coach, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Former NBA commissioner David Stern called Sloan "one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history". Sloan had a career regular-season win–loss record of 1,221–803, placing him third all-time in NBA wins at the time he retired. Sloan was only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 victories and is one of two coaches in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with one club (the Utah Jazz). He also coached for one team longer than anyone in NBA history. The 2009–10 season was his 22nd season (and 21st full season) as coach of the Jazz. Sloan coached the Jazz to 15 consecutive playoff appearances from 1989 to 2003. Although he never won a Coach of the Year award, he is one of only four coaches in NBA history with 15-plus consecutive seasons with a winning record (Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson are the others). He led Utah to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls both times.