Nate McMillan

Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, and the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012. During his playing and coaching stints with the SuperSonics he was given the nickname "Mr. Sonic".

Nate McMillan

McMillan visiting the Oregon National Guard
Indiana Pacers
Position	Head coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1964-08-03) August 3, 1964 Raleigh, North Carolina
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	William G. Enloe (Raleigh, North Carolina)
College	Chowan (1982–1984) NC State (1984–1986)
NBA draft	1986 / Round: 2 / Pick: 30th overall
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	1986–1998
Position	Point guard / Shooting guard
Number	10
Coaching career	2000–present
Career history
As player:
1986–1998	Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1999–2000	Seattle SuperSonics (assistant)
2000–2005	Seattle SuperSonics
2005–2012	Portland Trail Blazers
2013–2016	Indiana Pacers (assistant)
2016–present	Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1994, 1995) NBA steals leader (1994) No. 10 retired by Seattle SuperSonics
Career NBA statistics
Points	4,733 (5.9 ppg)
Assists	4,893 (6.1 apg)
Steals	1,544 (1.9 spg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and college career

McMillan grew up in the heart of North Carolina's basketball country and attended Raleigh's William G. Enloe High School, where he went unnoticed by major college scouts. After playing for two years at Chowan College (then a two-year school) in Murfreesboro, North Carolina,[1][2] he returned to Raleigh to play for Jim Valvano at North Carolina State. McMillan helped lead NC State to a first-place tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season in 1985, and the Elite Eight in both the 1985 and 1986 NCAA Championship Tournaments.

NBA career

McMillan was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 30th pick in the 1986 NBA draft. He would spend his entire NBA career in Seattle. During his 12-year playing career, McMillan put up career averages of 5.9 points, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals. He still shares (with Ernie DiGregorio) the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25. McMillan played as the starting point guard position for the SuperSonics for most of his career.[3] McMillan was known for his superb defense, leading the NBA in steals per game for the 1993–94 season and being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons. McMillan was also known for his balanced play, which led to four career triple-doubles.

In the 1995–96 season, McMillan helped the SuperSonics reach the NBA Finals against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The SuperSonics were the only team to beat the Bulls three times that season (once in the regular season and twice in the playoffs).[4]

Known as "Mr. Sonic" for his 19 years of service to the team, his no. 10 jersey was retired by the SuperSonics. He was also known to be one-third of the "Big Mac" team of the SuperSonics in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the others being Xavier McDaniel and Derrick McKey.

Coaching career

Seattle SuperSonics

After retiring in 1998, McMillan stayed in Seattle as an assistant under Paul Westphal. He held this role until 2000 when the Sonics fired Westphal and made McMillan interim coach. Although the team missed the playoffs during his first year, he earned a winning record of 38–29 as interim head coach. He was hired as head coach for the 2001–02 campaign and led the club to the playoffs.[5] As a result, he was named permanent head coach after the season.

McMillan's Sonics had mediocre records the next two years, going 40–42 and 37–45. In the 2004–05 season, he led the team to 52–30 record in the regular season.[5] The team advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.[6]

Portland Trail Blazers

After 19 years in Seattle, McMillan left Seattle on July 6, 2005, to become the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.[7] He took over a team riddled with cap problems and off-the-court drama, but steadily calmed the waters in Portland. His hard-nosed coaching style earned him the nickname "Sarge."[4] On December 5, 2009, McMillan ruptured his right Achilles tendon while scrimmaging with the Trail Blazers during practice.[8] He coached much of the season in a protective boot after surgery and led the team to 50 wins in spite of a historic number of injuries to his key players. McMillan coached the Blazers until March 15, 2012.[9]

USA

McMillan was an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski for the US national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning bronze and gold medals, respectively.[10] He is also a member of the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame, due to his All-American performance at Chowan.

McMillan again served as an assistant coach under Krzyzewski for the US national team during the 2012 London Summer Olympics.[11]

Indiana Pacers

On July 1, 2013, McMillan was hired by the Indiana Pacers as an assistant coach for the 2013–14 season.[12] He replaced Brian Shaw, who accepted the head coaching position with the Denver Nuggets.[13] In May 2016, after former head coach Frank Vogel's contract was not extended, McMillan was promoted to replace Vogel as the Pacers' coach.[14]

Head coaching record

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
Seattle	2000–01	67	38	29	.567	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Seattle	2001–02	82	45	37	.549	4th in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
Seattle	2002–03	82	40	42	.488	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Seattle	2003–04	82	37	45	.451	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Seattle	2004–05	82	52	30	.634	1st in Northwest	11	6	5	.545	Lost in Conference Semifinals
Portland	2005–06	82	21	61	.256	5th in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Portland	2006–07	82	32	50	.390	3rd in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Portland	2007–08	82	41	41	.500	3rd in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Portland	2008–09	82	54	28	.659	1st in Northwest	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Portland	2009–10	82	50	32	.610	3rd in Northwest	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Portland	2010–11	82	48	34	.585	3rd in Northwest	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Portland	2011–12	43	20	23	.465	(fired)	—	—	—	—	—
Indiana	2016–17	82	42	40	.512	4th in Central	4	0	4	.000	Lost in First Round
Indiana	2017–18	82	48	34	.585	2nd in Central	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
Indiana	2018–19	82	48	34	.585	2nd in Central	4	0	4	.000	Lost in First Round
Career		1176	616	560	.524		49	17	32	.347

Personal life

His son Jamelle played as a guard for the Arizona State Sun Devils[15] and is currently an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans.[16]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References

1. "Nate McMillian". The Official Athletics Site of the Chowan University Hawks. Chowan University. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
2. "Nate McMillan". NBA.
3. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mcmilna01.html
4. Buckner, Candace (16 May 2016). "Insider: 10 things to know about new Pacers coach Nate McMillan". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
5. "Nate McMillan Coaching Record". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
6. "2004-2005 Seattle Supersonics". Pointafter.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
7. "Trail Blazers hire Nate McMillan". Billings Gazette. July 6, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
8. "Blazers' injuries, ailments continue to pile up". The Oregonian. December 8, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
9. Buckner, Candace. "Nate McMillan finalizing negotiations to be Pacers coach" (May 15, 2016). Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
10. 2006 USA Basketball Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
11. "USA Basketball: Nate McMillan". archive.usab.com. January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
12. Indiana Pacers hire Nate McMillan as associate head coach
13. http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/sports/pacers_and_nba/pacers-hire-nate-mcmillan
14. "Pacers Name Nate McMillan Head Coach". NBA.com. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
15. "Jamelle McMillan Profile". Arizona State University Athletics. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
16. "Pelicans announce coaching staff additions and changes". NBA.com. September 13, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2020.

External links

• Career NBA stats as a player
• Career NBA stats as a coach