What American basketball coach, born February 11, 1944 worked as head coach during the 1996–97 Denver Nuggets season?
1996–97 Denver Nuggets season The 1996–97 NBA season was the Nuggets' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th season as a franchise. In the offseason, the Nuggets acquired Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce from the Indiana Pacers, and signed free agent Ervin Johnson. However, after a 4–9 start to the season, Bernie Bickerstaff was forced out as head coach and replaced with Dick Motta, where the Nuggets then lost ten straight games along the way. Midway through the season, Jackson was traded back to the Indiana Pacers, while Pierce was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets. Meanwhile, the Nuggets signed free agent Kenny Smith, who won championships with the Houston Rockets. As the season drew, the Nuggets still struggled losing 26 of their final 30 games, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 21–61 record. Despite playing just 55 games due to a knee injury and a ruptured achilles tendon, LaPhonso Ellis led the team in scoring with a career high of 21.9 points per game.
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.