Philip T. Handy[1] (born August 24, 1971)[2] is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for Mist BC of the Unrivaled basketball league. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and player development trainer. He played college basketball for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, and then played professionally abroad before starting his career in coaching.
 Handy with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 | |
| Mist BC | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Unrivaled |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 24, 1971 San Leandro, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 193 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | James Logan (Union City, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1995: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1995–2002 |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career | 2011–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1995–1997 | Omaha Racers |
| 1997 | SLUC Nancy Basket |
| 1997–1998 | Grand Rapids Mackers |
| 1998 | La Crosse Bobcats |
| 1999–2000 | Manchester Giants |
| 2000–2001 | Melbourne Tigers |
| 2001–2002 | West Sydney Razorbacks |
| As coach: | |
| 2011–2013 | Los Angeles Lakers (development) |
| 2013–2018 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
| 2018–2019 | Toronto Raptors (assistant) |
| 2019–2024 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 2025–present | Mist BC |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As player:
As assistant coach:
| |
Early life
editBorn in San Leandro, California, he grew up in Hayward - Union City, California.[3]
College career
editAfter a year of junior college,[3] Handy attended University of Hawaii from 1993 to 1995.[4] During his tenure with the Rainbows he was a WAC champion, and first Team All defense selection.[5]
Professional career
editHandy played for the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers during the pre-season, in the Continental Basketball Association for the Omaha Racers, Grand Rapids Mackers (via dispersal draft from Omaha),[6] La Crosse Bobcats (rights traded to Fort Wayne Fury on 12 October 1998) and internationally in France (SLUC Nancy Basket), Italy, Germany, Spain,[7] Israel (Maccabi Hadera), England (Manchester Giants), and Australia (Melbourne Tigers and West Sydney Razorbacks). Never a crowd favourite Razorback fans took particular delight in chanting "You're useless Handy".
He obtained a CBA All-Rookie First Team (1995–96), and a British Basketball League championship with the Manchester Giants in the season 1999–2000.[8]
Coaching career
editHandy has served as player development coach for the Los Angeles Lakers under Mike Brown. Still under Brown, he served as assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then moved to the Toronto Raptors as assistant for Nick Nurse.[9] He then moved back to the Lakers under Frank Vogel.[10]
Handy went to 6 consecutive NBA Finals, 4 with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2015–2018), 1 with the Toronto Raptors (2019), and 1 with the Los Angeles Lakers (2020) winning championships in 2016, 2019, and 2020.[11]
On November 15, 2024, Handy was announced to be one of the six new head coaches of the Unrivaled basketball league.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Philip T Handy was born on August 24, 1971 in Alameda County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ 1998–99 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 250
- ^ a b "Who is Phil Handy? Fast facts about the Raptors' newest assistant coach". 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Phil Handy College Stats".
- ^ "From Kobe to LeBron and Irving, former Rainbow Handy is learning from teaching". 23 June 2016.
- ^ "Fact File: Phil Handy, Manchester Giants".
- ^ "Q+A: Cavaliers Assistant Coach Phil Handy". 5 July 2016.
- ^ "Giants close on Conference title". Independent.co.uk. 26 March 2000. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26.
- ^ Amick, Sam (May 29, 2019). "A familiar foe: Meet the man who has more experience facing the Warriors in the Finals than anyone". theathletic.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Duangdao, Dan (July 14, 2019). "Lakers Coaching Rumors: Phil Handy Hired As Assistant Coach To Frank Vogel". Lakers Nation. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Goon, Kyle (July 9, 2021). "The NBA Finals are missing familiar face in Lakers' Phil Handy". ocregister.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Philippou, Alexa (November 15, 2024). "Unrivaled coach list includes Teresa Weatherspoon, Phil Handy". ESPN.com.