Sam Mitchell (basketball)
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Masonpatriot
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{{Infobox NBAretired
| name = Sam Mitchell
|image=
|size=
|caption=
|position= [[Small forward]]
|number= 5, 42
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lbs = 210
|birthdate= {{birth date and age|1963|09|02}} <br> [[Columbus, Georgia]] <br/>
|deathdate=
|debutyear= 1985
|finalyear= 2002
|draftyear= 1985
|draftround= 3
|draftpick= 7
|draftteam= Houston Rockets
|college= [[Mercer University|Mercer]]
|teams=<nowiki></nowiki>
*[[Minnesota Timberwolves]] (1989-1992, 1995-2002)
*[[Indiana Pacers]] (1992-1995)
|stat1label= [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
|stat1value= 8,636
|stat2label= [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
|stat2value= 3,711
|stat3label= [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
|stat3value= 1,089
|letter=m
|bbr=mitchsa01
|highlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
* 1x [[NBA Coach of the Year]] (2007)
|HOF=
|coach=<nowiki></nowiki>
*[[Toronto Raptors]] (2004–present)
}}
'''Samuel (Sam) E. Mitchell, Jr.''' (born [[September 2]] [[1963]] in [[Columbus, Georgia]]) is a retired American professional [[basketball]] player and current head coach of the [[Toronto Raptors]] of the [[National Basketball Association]].
A [[Columbus High School (Columbus, Georgia)|Columbus (Georgia) High School]] graduate, the 6'6", 210 lb [[small forward]] was drafted out of [[Mercer University]] with the seventh pick of the third round (54th overall) by the [[Houston Rockets]] in the [[1985 NBA Draft]]. Mitchell scored nearly 2000 points at Mercer, becoming the leading scorer in team history. He led the Bears to both the regular-season and postseason Trans-American Atlantic Conference championships in 1985. As a result, the team made the NCAA tournament that year.
Mitchell did not commence play in the NBA after being drafted and until joining [[1989]] [[expansion team]], the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]], in their inaugural season. Prior to his [[NBA]] career, he spent three seasons in the [[Continental Basketball Association]] and in the [[Ligue Nationale de Basketball|French basketball league]] team of [[Montpellier]] (coached by [[Pierre Galle]]) for an additional two seasons. After that, Mitchell spent three seasons with the Wolves until [[September 8]] [[1992]] when he was traded along with [[point guard]] [[Pooh Richardson]] to the [[Indiana Pacers]] in exchange for small forward [[Chuck Person]] and point guard [[Micheal Williams]]. During his playing days in Minneapolis, he scored a career-high 37 points against the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] on [[February 3]] [[1991]]. After spending three years with the Pacers, he returned to the Timberwolves for the rest of his career, before retiring in 2002. Mitchell's leadership is considered instrumental in the development of [[Kevin Garnett]]. Mitchell currently is second on the Wolves' all-time scoring and rebounding list.
Mitchell returned to the NBA almost immediately after his retirement as an assistant coach with the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] for two seasons until 2004. He then briefly became a part of the expansion [[Charlotte Bobcats]] as their top assistant coach, until moving on to the [[Toronto Raptors]] when he was named as the sixth head coach in Raptors history after incumbent [[Kevin O'Neill (basketball)|Kevin O'Neill]] was fired.
Mitchell was named the coach of the month in January 2007 for his effort bringing the Toronto Raptors back to .500 and leading the [[Atlantic Division (NBA)|Atlantic Division]]. On [[30 March]], [[2007]], Mitchell got his 100th win as NBA coach when the Raptors defeated the [[Washington Wizards]] at the [[Verizon Center]].<ref>Feschuck, Dave, [http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/198258 "Mitchell turns millstone into personal milestone"], thestar.com, [[1 April]] [[2007]], accessed [[1 April]] [[2007]].</ref>
Mitchell, who saw his team struggle with rebuilding in his first years as coach, also led the Raptors to their first division title in franchise history as the team won the Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference in the [[2006-07 NBA season]]. On [[24 April]], [[2007]], he was named 2006–07 [[NBA Coach of the Year]].<ref>[http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/samcoy_042407.html "Sam Mitchell Named 2006-07 Coach of the Year"], nba.com/raptors, [[24 April]] [[2007]], accessed [[24 April]] [[2007]].</ref> On [[22 May]], [[2007]] after leading the Raptors to their first playoffs appearance since 2002, and after much speculation, Mitchell was signed to a four year contract with the Raptors.<ref>[http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/pressrelease_mitchell_052107.html Raptors Award Mitchell with New Contract], nba.com/raptors, [[21 May]] [[2007]], accessed [[23 May]] [[2007]].</ref>
On [[November 25]] [[2007]] Mitchell surpassed [[Lenny Wilkens]] for the most wins in team history. Mitchell is married and has four children names, maya, rena,ragan,stephanie
==Coaching record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
! Games !! W !! L !! Win % !! Finish !! W !! L !! Win % !! Result
|-
![[Toronto Raptors|TOR]] ||[[2004-05 NBA season|2004–05]]
|82||33||49||.402||'''4<sup>th</sup> in [[Atlantic Division (NBA)|Atlantic Division]]'''|| - || - || - || -
|-
!TOR||[[2005-06 NBA season|2005–06]]
|82||27||55||.329||'''4<sup>th</sup> in Atlantic Division'''|| - || - || - || -
|-
!TOR||[[2006-07 NBA season|2006–07]]
|82||47||35||.573||'''1<sup>st</sup> in Atlantic Division'''|| 2 || 4 || .333 ||1st Round
|-
!TOR||[[2007-08 NBA season|2007–08]]
|82||41||41||.500||'''2<sup>nd</sup> in Atlantic Division'''|| 1 || 4 || .200 ||1st Round
|-
! colspan="2"|Total||'''328'''||'''148'''||'''180'''||'''.451'''|| ||'''3'''||'''8'''||'''.273'''||
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchsa01.html Profile as a player]
*[http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/mitchsa01c.html Profile as a coach]
{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[Toronto Raptors]] Head Coach | before=[[Kevin O'Neill (basketball)|Kevin O'Neill]] | years=2004–present | after=Incumbent}}
{{end box}}
{{NBA Coaches of the Year}}
{{RaptorsCoach}}
{{Toronto Raptors current roster}}
{{NBACoach}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Sam}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Columbus, Georgia]]
[[Category:American basketball coaches]]
[[Category:African American coaches]]
[[Category:African American sportspeople]]
[[Category:American basketball players]]
[[Category:Minnesota Timberwolves players]]
[[Category:Indiana Pacers players]]
[[Category:Toronto Raptors coaches]]
[[Category:Houston Rockets draft picks]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Bucks]]
[[Category:Charlotte Bobcats]]
[[Category:Mercer University alumni]]
[[Category:Small forwards]]
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