Saturday, May 30, 2009

Sixers name Jordan head coach

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that Eddie Jordan has agreed in principle to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"I saw first-hand the immense impact Eddie Jordan had in helping the Nets reach two NBA Finals and as the head coach in Washington, he consistently put his teams in a position to win on a nightly basis," Stefanski said. "He embodies all the qualities I was looking for in the next head coach of the Sixers and we are very excited to have him in Philadelphia."

In June of 2003, Jordan was named the head coach of the Wizards. Under his leadership, Washington made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons from 2005 through 2008. During that four-year span, the Wizards posted a combined regular season winning percentage of .521. In 2005, Jordan guided Washington to a first-round upset of the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Jordan has been a head coach in the NBA for over 500 games across eight seasons with Washington and Sacramento. His first stint as a head coach came with the Kings at the tail end of the 1996-97 season. Following his time with Sacramento, Jordan served as the lead assistant coach for New Jersey, helping the Nets capture back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.

As a collegian, Jordan led Rutgers to the 1976 NCAA Final Four in his Junior year, and was named East Regional MVP. In his senior season, he was named honorable mention All-America, while setting Rutgers all-time career records in assists and steals. Jordan went on to play seven seasons in the NBA, averaging 8.1 points, 3.8 assists and 1.82 steals and was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers Championship team in 1982.

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