Ben Sullivan (born March 19, 1984) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. A former center at Cal State Northridge and the University of Portland, Sullivan has primarily served as a shooting coach during his NBA coaching career.[1]
 Sullivan in 2021 | |
| Houston Rockets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 19, 1984 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lake Oswego (Lake Oswego, Oregon) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2007: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2007–2009 |
| Position | Center |
| Coaching career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2007–2008 | MLP Academics Heidelberg |
| As coach: | |
| 2011–2012 | Lewis & Clark (assistant) |
| 2014–2018 | Atlanta Hawks (assistant) |
| 2018–2021 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| 2021–2023 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 2023–present | Houston Rockets (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As assistant coach: | |
Coaching career
editSullivan retired from playing basketball and joined his alma mater Portland as their director of basketball technology before becoming an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark College, during which he was also an office manager at a construction firm in Vancouver, Washington.[2]
San Antonio Spurs
editSullivan joined the San Antonio Spurs front office in 2012 as a video intern on the recommendation of then-Spurs assistant Ime Udoka. With the Spurs, he worked his way to a position in player development, where he was tasked with everything from scouting reports to analytics, as well as one-on-one workouts with players. He also worked under Spurs assistant Chip Engelland, considered to be one of the top shooting coaches in the NBA.[1]
Atlanta Hawks
editSullivan was named an assistant coach on former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer's coaching staff for the Atlanta Hawks on August 20, 2014.[3]
Milwaukee Bucks
editSullivan was one of a number of assistants who joined Budenholzer when the latter was hired as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks before the 2018–19 NBA season.[4][5] While in Milwaukee, Sullivan has worked with NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo in developing his shooting ability, which has been considered as the main weakness in the Bucks star's basketball game.[2] Sullivan won his first NBA championship when the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns four games to two in the 2021 NBA Finals.[6]
Boston Celtics
editBefore the 2021–22 NBA season, Sullivan was hired as an assistant coach by the Boston Celtics.[7]
Houston Rockets
editOn July 3, 2023, Sullivan was hired by the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Davis, Scott (April 12, 2019). "Meet the 35-year-old coach who is trying to fix Giannis Antetokounmpo's biggest weakness and make the Bucks even scarier". Business Insider. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Aschburner, Steve (October 11, 2019). "How great becomes greater". NBA.com. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ "Atlanta Hawks Add Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to Coaching Staff". NBA.com. August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Bucks Name Assistant Coaching Staff". NBA.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer fills his staff with ex-Hawks". NBA.com. June 7, 2018.
- ^ Portland Men's Basketball [@PilotHoops] (July 21, 2021). "Congrats to Pilot alum Ben Sullivan on winning the NBA Championship as an assistant coach with the @Bucks !" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Celtics Finalize Coaching Staff". NBA.com. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "Rockets Head Coach Ime Udoka Announces Coaching Staff". NBA.com. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.