Flip Saunders was named the Wizards 22nd head coach in franchise history on April 22,
With a record of 587-396 entering the 2009-10 season, his .597 winning percentage (seventh among active coaches) is topped only by Phil Jackson (.746), Pat Riley (.722), Don Nelson (.611) and Jerry Sloan (.600) among all-time NBA coaches in their first 13 seasons, and ranks seventh-best all-time among coaches with at least 900 games at the helm. Saunders has seven 50-win seasons to his credit as an NBA head coach, and with four Conference Finals appearances in 11 postseason appearances, he defines what it means to be playoff-tested.
Saunders joined the Wizards after leading the Detroit Pistons to a 176-70 (.715) record from 2005-08, the highest winning percentage of any coach in their franchise history. In 2007-08, the third of Saunders’ three seasons with the Pistons, he guided Detroit to their third consecutive Central Division crown with a 59-23 regular season record (the second-best record in the Eastern Conference). Saunders recorded his 500th win as an NBA head coach during the 2006-07 campaign, becoming just the 26th coach in NBA history at the time to reach that mark. Saunders’ first season in Detroit in 2005- 06 included a record of 24-3 after 27 games, making him just the second coach in NBA history to start a season 24-
Prior to joining Detroit, Saunders spent nine-plus years with the Minnesota Timberwolves (1995- 2005), where he guided the club to eight consecutive playoff appearances and a Western Conferencebest and franchise-best 58-24 record in 2003-04 -- a season that culminated in a berth in the Western Conference Finals. During his tenure in Minnesota, he won NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month honors four times (April ’04, February ’03, January ’01, January ’00) and coached the Western Conference during the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Saunders’ time with Timberwolves represented the best years in the franchise’s history, and placed him as the organization’s all-time winningest coach. He posted a winning record in six of his nine full seasons as head coach, compiling an overall record of 411-326 (.558).
Saunders’ impressive coaching resume also includes seven consecutive seasons of 30 or more victories in the CBA, two CBA Championships (‘90, ‘92), a pair of CBA Coach of the Year honors (‘90, ‘92) and 23 CBA-to-NBA player promotions. He ranks third all-time in the CBA with 253 career victories (253-137, .649) during stops with the Rapid City Thrillers (1988-89),
The Cleveland,
Saunders, 54, was an All-America basketball player at Cuyahoga Heights High School in Cleveland. During his senior season in 1973, he was named
Saunders was born February 23,