Sports Business Classroom is excited to announce that New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry will be a featured speaker for the 2020 Business of Basketball Virtual Conference taking place August 10-14, 2020!

Designed for those looking to break into the sports business world, the immersive, five-day Business of Basketball Virtual Conference provides registrants the opportunity to learn from top executives while performing real work in multiple in-demand disciplines, including team video, scouting, analytics, social media, digital branding, broadcasting, and the league salary cap.

Coon will lead an all-star lineup of sports business executives that will be teaching and joining the Sports Business Classroom Virtual Conference, including Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, Washington Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard, Play-by-Play Commentator NBA on ESPN & ABC Mike Breen, Chief Creative Officer at Momentum Worldwide Omid Farhang, WNBA Champion Renee Montgomery, Bleacher Report Staff Writer Mirin Fader, and the Vegas Summer League co-founders Warren LeGarie and Albert Hall.

+ Click Here to View a Full List of Committed Speakers

Past speakers have included NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, TNT’s David Aldridge, Houston Rockets Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer, Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle, the cast of NBATV’s The Starters, ESPN’s Mark Jones, Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and NBA Executive VP of Basketball Operations Kiki Vandeweghe, just to name a few.

 

 

SBC SPEAKER BIO: ALVIN GENTRY 

On May 30, 2015, Alvin Gentry was named the Head Coach of the New Orleans Pelicans – the sixth in the franchise’s history.

Prior to joining the Pelicans organization, Gentry served as the Associate Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors, helping navigate the team to one of the best seasons in NBA History. The Warriors won a then- franchise record 67 games – good for the best record in the NBA – and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to claim the 2015 NBA Championship – the franchise’s first in 40 years.

Gentry, 64, brings more than 35 years of coaching experience to the Crescent City. Gentry has previously served as the Head Coach of the Miami Heat (1995), Detroit Pistons (1997-2000), Los Angeles Clippers (2000-2003) and Phoenix Suns (2008-2013). In 869 games, Gentry has amassed a career record of 399-470 (.459). During his tenure in Detroit, Gentry led the Pistons to the 1999 NBA playoffs during his only full season as head coach of the club. In Los Angeles, Gentry improved the Clippers’ record by 16 wins during his first season in 2000-01 (31-51), and added another eight wins the following season (39-43), marking the franchise’s best finish in nearly a decade. As head coach of the Suns, Gentry led the team to the 2010 Western Conference finals after a 54-28 regular season record – the fourth best in Phoenix franchise history.

Known for his offensive prowess, Gentry’s 2009-10 Suns team led the NBA in scoring (110.2 points per game) as well as offensive rating (115.3), and finished fourth in pace of play (95.3), while being the only team in the league to connect on over 40-percent of their three-point field goal attempts (.412). During the 2013-14 season, Gentry served as the associate head coach of the Clippers, where Los Angeles led the league in both scoring (107.9 points per game) and offensive rating (112.1), while also finishing seventh in pace of play (95.9). While with the Warriors, Golden State led the league in scoring (110.0 point per game) and pace of play (98.3), while finishing second in offensive rating (111.6). This past season, Gentry’s Pelicans squad finished third in points per game (111.7), and first in pace of play (102.73) on their way to 48 wins – the third most in team history – and a trip to the Western Conference Semifinals for just the second time in franchise history.

A native of Shelby, North Carolina, Gentry was a college point guard at Appalachian State, where he graduated with a degree in management in 1977 before embarking on a coaching career. He earned his first opportunity as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Colorado during the 1977-78 season and landed a full-time assistant coaching job at Baylor in 1980 before returning to Colorado as an assistant coach from 1981-85. In 1985, Gentry joined Larry Brown’s staff as an assistant at the University of Kansas, helping the Jayhawks capture the 1988 National Championship and then proceeding to follow Brown to the NBA as an Assistant Coach on his staff with the San Antonio Spurs. This is Gentry’s second stop in New Orleans, as he served as an Assistant Coach for Tim Floyd’s staff during the 2003-04 season.

ABOUT SPORTS BUSINESS CLASSROOM

Sports Business Classroom is dedicated to creating immersive educational and training experiences designed by leading industry professionals to develop the sports business stars of tomorrow.

Sports Business Classroom creates one-of-a-kind learning opportunities for those interested in the business of basketball and jobs in sports. Our goal with every program we produce is to combine the best of all worlds into a single package – great academics, hands-on experience, immersion into the subject matter and interaction with some of the best minds working in and around the NBA.