George Karl
George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania) is a former NBA and ABA player and current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. Karl is currently 13th on the all-time win list for coaches in the NBA. After a college career at the University of North Carolina he signed with the ABA's San Antonio Spurs in 1973. When the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, Karl began his two-year NBA playing career. After his playing career, Karl became an assistant coach for the Spurs. Karl then moved on to the Continental Basketball Association as head coach of the Montana (Great Falls) Golden Nuggets. As coach of the Golden Nuggets, Karl won CBA Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1983.
In 1984, Karl became the head coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers until he was fired in 1986. He later coached the Golden State Warriors where he would coach until 1988. After being fired from the Warriors, Karl returned to the CBA as coach of the Albany Patroons, winning the coach of the year award in 1991. Karl returned to the NBA as coach of the Seattle Supersonics from 1991-1998, leading them to the NBA Finals in 1996 where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. In 1998, he moved to the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach. He was fired after the 2003 season.
He returned to the NBA in 2005 when he became head coach of the Nuggets taking over from interim head coach Michael Cooper on January 27.
On July 27, the Nuggets announced that Karl had prostate cancer. He has enjoyed a resurrection of his career with the Denver Nuggets, guiding them to an unprecedented 32-8 record in the second half of the 2004-05 season. George is a fierce liberal and is also known for his sense of humor. He has openly feuded with Colorado governor Bill Owens and is an opponent of the Bush administration.
Karl's son Coby is the starting point guard for Boise State University. Coby came out for the 2006 NBA Draft after a bout with thyroid cancer, but withdrew his name before the draft and returned to Boise State for his senior year.
