Steven Gerald Clifford is an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association.
Background
Born in Island Falls, Maine, Clifford grew up in Mattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved to Vermont. He played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont.
Education
He graduated with a degree in special education.
Career
Clifford matriculated the University of Maine at Farmington, where he played college basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, he was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He also gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as their head coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments.
He then served as an assistant coach at Saint Anselm’s College, Fairfield University, Boston University and Siena College.
Clifford became an National Basketball Association assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets under Jeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. He then was an assistant for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic.
He considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors. He reached the National Basketball Association Playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the National Basketball Association Finals in 2009.
Clifford then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-2013 as an assistant.
On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to be their head coach. Clifford implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning the Charlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the National Basketball Association in that category. He led the Bobcats to the 2014 National Basketball Association Playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43-39 record.
The two years prior to him joining the Charlotte Bobcats only had a combined total of 28 wins.
He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7-1 record leading to the playoffs. College
National Basketball Association.