Mike Woodson

Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

With coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson played collegiately from 1976 to 1980. As a junior team captain, his Hoosiers won the 1979 NIT Tournament and he was named to first team All-Big Ten. That summer Woodson won a gold medal as captain of the United States basketball team at the 1979 Pan American Games. His senior year, Woodson and Isiah Thomas led the 1979–80 Hoosiers to a conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. Woodson was named the 1980 Big Ten Player of the Year, an NABC All-American, and awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball. Among Hoosier basketball players, Woodson ranks fifth all-time in total points and his 19.8 points per game average is tied (with Calbert Cheaney) for the second highest by a Hoosier who played four seasons in college.

Woodson played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after getting drafted by the New York Knicks as the 12th pick of the 1980 NBA draft. He also played for the New Jersey Nets, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He appeared in 13 NBA playoff games over five post-seasons.

Woodson later coached for seven different NBA franchises. He worked as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Larry Brown's Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. Woodson and Brown, who had previously worked together as player and coach, won an NBA Championship with the Pistons during the 2003–04 season. Woodson went on to serve six years as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, where he made the playoffs his last three seasons and his 206 career wins rank fourth-best in Hawks franchise history. He subsequently spent three seasons as head coach of the New York Knicks, where he reached the playoffs twice and secured an Atlantic Division title.