Five things to know about Phil Handy
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Here are five things you need to know about Phil Handy:
Championship pedigree
Handy, 49, celebrated an NBA championship with the Lakers on Sunday night.
Handy has three championship rings with three teams, and he just completed his sixth straight NBA Finals run as an assistant coach.
He made four Finals' appearances with the Cavaliers, one with the Raptors and one with the Lakers.
“I just pay homage to a lot of people that have coached in the NBA,” Handy told The Undefeated. “There's a lot of coaches that have coached f or years and years, and they're successful coaches. There are good coaches t hat have never made it to the Finals. And for me to be able to be on this route, I don't have an answer to it sometimes.”
Playing career
Handy, from San Lean dro, California, played college basketball at Hawaii from 1993-95. The 6- foot -5 forward averaged 10 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Handy played profess ion ally in the Continental Basketball Association and overseas in Australia, England and France.
Assistant stops
Handy was a player development coach for the Lake rs from 20111 3. From Los Angeles, Handy followed head coach Mike Brown to Cleveland.
Brown's second stint in Cleveland lasted just one season, but Handy stayed with the Cavaliers through the 2017-18 season.
The Cavaliers played in four consecutive NBA Finals during that span, and won the title in the 2015-16 season.
Handy won his second ring last summer with the Rap to rs. Handy played for Nick Nurse in England, and coached under Nurse in Toronto.
After one season with the Rap to rs, Handy joined Frank Vogel' s Lake rs staff. Handy reunited with Le B ron James, whom he coached in Cleveland.
Next step
Handy, in the interview with The Undefeated, was asked if he aspires to be a head coach.
“Not really ,” Handy said .“When I say not really, I'm not saying I don't want to be a head coach. My aspirations daily are just to be the best coach I can be every day. That is my No. 1 priority. And when I wake up, whatever direction Frank Vogel gives me, I want to try to carry those out to the best of my ability.”
Training app
Handy developed a training app for players and coaches called “94 Feet of Game.”
The a pp includes videos focused on ball handling, shooting, footwork and more.