John Kuester will return for his second season as an NBA head coach in 2010-11. Despite a rash of injuries that totaled 155 games lost during the 2009-10 season, Kuester led the team to a 7-4 record in games where the roster was entirely healthy (11 games total) and a 27-55 record overall. Several of the Pistons’ key rotation players missed significant time including Richard Hamilton (36 games), Tayshaun Prince (32 games), Ben Gordon (19 games), Will Bynum (19 games), Ben Wallace (13 games) and Rodney Stuckey (nine games).
When Joe Dumars hired John Kuester as the 27th head coach in franchise history on July 9, 2009, he knew that he was hiring a highly regarded coach that has worked for a number of different NBA franchises and coached some of the top players in the game. Kuester has coached 2009 NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, 2001 NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson and NBA All-Stars Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Dikembe Mutombo, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace throughout his travels. In addition, 10 of the last 12 teams he has been associated with have made the NBA Playoffs.
While his coaching experiences have brought impressive results, what stood out most for Dumars was the fact that during the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship season, Kuester was a coach that consistently had the attention of each player on the roster.
Kuester, 55, spent over 14 years in the NBA as an assistant coach with six different franchises (Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit,
For seven seasons (1990-1997), the Richmond, Virginia native was a member of the Boston Celtics organization, serving as assistant coach his final two years. He joined Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown in 1997 and helped guide the Philadelphia 76ers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the club, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2001. The
Prior to joining the NBA ranks, Kuester served five seasons as head coach at George Washington University from 1985-1990. He became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball in 1983 when he succeeded Rick Pitino at Boston University. He was an assistant coach for the Terriers for two seasons prior to his head coaching appointment.
As a collegiate player for four seasons at
Kuester was selected in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He played three seasons in the NBA, one each with Kansas City, Denver and
Kuester resides in Oakland Township with his wife, Tricia and has two children, John and Katie. John is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, while Katie, currently a senior at St. Joe’s, is a member of the women’s basketball team.