Alex Hannum

Alex Hannum
Personal information
Born	(1923-07-19)July 19, 1923 Los Angeles, California
Died	January 18, 2002(2002-01-18) (aged 78) San Diego, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Alexander Hamilton (Los Angeles, California)
College	USC (1942–1943; 1946–1948)
NBA draft	1948 / Round: -- / Pick: --
Selected by the Indianapolis Jets
Playing career	1948–1957
Position	Power forward / Center
Number	10, 11, 20, 4, 6, 33, 18
Coaching career	1957–1974
Career history
As player:
1948–1949	Oshkosh All-Stars (NBL)
1949–1951	Syracuse Nationals
1951–1952	Baltimore Bullets
1952–1954	Rochester Royals
1954–1956	Milwaukee / St. Louis Hawks
1956	Fort Wayne Pistons
1956–1957	St. Louis Hawks
As coach:
1957–1958	St. Louis Hawks
1960–1963	Syracuse Nationals
1963–1966	San Francisco Warriors
1966–1968	Philadelphia 76ers
1968–1969	Oakland Oaks (ABA)
1969–1971	San Diego Rockets
1971–1974	Denver Rockets (ABA)
Career highlights and awards
As player: First-team All-PCC (1948) As coach: 2× NBA champion (1958, 1967) NBA Coach of the Year (1964) ABA champion (1969) ABA Coach of the Year (1969)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,078 (6.0 ppg)
Rebound	2,013 (4.5 rpg)
Assists	857 (1.7 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Basketball Hall of Fame as coach

Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was a professional basketball player and Hall-of-Fame coach.

High school career

Hannum prepped at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.

College career

Hannum played at USC, where he was captain of the 1948 team.

Playing career

Hannum played in the NBA between 1949 and 1957. After a season with the Oshkosh All-Stars, followed by the formation of the National Basketball Association, he played for several NBA teams and scored more than 3,000 points.

Coaching career

Hannum is mostly known for coaching the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers of 1966-67 to the NBA championship, ending the eight-year title streak of the Boston Celtics. He had also coached the Bob Pettit-led St. Louis Hawks team to the 1958 NBA Championship over the Celtics in the NBA Finals, thus making him the first of only three head coaches in NBA history to win championships with two different teams (the other two are Phil Jackson and Pat Riley). The aforementioned seasons were the only two in Bill Russell's 13-year career in which the Celtics' center did not win an NBA championship. In 1964, Hannum was named NBA Coach of the Year while with the San Francisco Warriors.

In 1968 Hannum was named head coach and executive vice president of the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball Association. Hannum coached the Rick Barry-led Oaks to the 1969 ABA Championship, becoming the first of two coaches to win championships in both the NBA and ABA. Hannum won the ABA Coach of the Year honors the same season.

Hannum on April 8, 1971 left his position as head coach of the San Diego Rockets of the NBA to become President, General Manager and head coach of the ABA's Denver Rockets. In his first season the Rockets lost their opening playoff match to the Texas Chaparrals. On June 13, 1972 Hannum bought control of the Rockets with A.G. "Bud" Fischer and Frank M. Goldberg. In the 1972-73 season Hannum coached the Rockets to the 1973 ABA Playoffs but they lost in the first round of the Western Division playoffs to the Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 1. Hannum returned the Rockets to the 1974 ABA Playoffs where they lost in their opening match to the San Diego Conquistadors. On April 30, 1974 Hannum was dismissed as president, general manager and head coach of the Rockets. Hannum's combined record (NBA and ABA), was 649–564 (.535) with a 61–46 record (.570) in the playoffs on 11 trips in 16 seasons.

Hannum was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Thirteen Hall-of-Famers played for Hannum — in addition to Pettit, Chamberlain and Barry, he had also coached Cliff Hagan, Ed Macauley, Slater Martin, Dolph Schayes, Nate Thurmond, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer, Elvin Hayes, Calvin Murphy and Chet Walker. Hannum, a native of Los Angeles, California, and graduate of the University of Southern California, died at the age of 78 in San Diego, California.

Coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss %
Post season	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
STL	1956–57	31	15	16	.484	3rd in Western	10	6	4	.600	Lost in NBA Finals
STL	1957–58	72	41	31	.484	1st in Western	11	8	3	.727	Won NBA Finals
SYR	1960–61	79	38	41	.481	3rd in Eastern	8	4	4	.500	Lost Division Finals
SYR	1961–62	80	41	39	.513	3rd in Eastern	5	2	3	.400	Lost Division Semifinals
SYR	1962–63	80	48	32	.600	3rd in Eastern	8	4	4	.500	Lost Division Semifinals
SF	1963–64	80	48	32	.600	1st in Western	8	4	4	.500	Lost in NBA Finals
SF	1964–65	80	17	63	.524	5th in Western	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
SF	1965–66	80	35	45	.438	4th in Western	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
PHI	1966–67	81	68	13	.840	1st in Eastern	15	11	4	.733	Won NBA Finals
PHI	1967–68	82	62	20	.756	1st in Eastern	13	7	6	.538	Lost Division Finals
OAK	1968–69	78	60	18	.769	1st in Western	16	12	4	.750	Won ABA Finals
SD	1969–70	56	18	38	.321	7th in Western	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
SD	1970–71	82	40	42	.488	3rd in Western	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
DEN	1971–72	84	34	50	.405	4th in Western	7	3	4	.429	Lost Division Semifinals
DEN	1972–73	84	47	37	.560	3rd in Western	5	1	4	.200	Lost Division Semifinals
DEN	1973–74	84	37	47	.440	5th in Western	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
Career		1213	649	564	.535		107	61	46	.570

Trivia

Hannum is one of only three NBA players to receive more than six personal fouls in a single game (Don Otten and Cal Bowdler are the others). On December 26, 1950, Hannum received seven personal fouls in a game against the Boston Celtics.^[1]

References

↑ The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 388. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.