NBA Development League: Bighorns Name Musselman Head Coach
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Bighorns Name Musselman Head Coach

For Immediate Release
August 12, 2010

RENO, Nev.— The Reno Bighorns, NBA Development League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, tabbed former NBA head coach Eric Musselman as their new head coach, the organization announced this morning.

Eric Musselman, 45, comes to Reno with more than two decades of experience in professional basketball—including three seasons as head coach for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. “As we position ourselves to bring a D-League championship to Reno and provide our fans with a fun, electrifying product , Eric was the perfect choice to take this organization to the next level,” said Stuart Katzoff, Bighorns president and managing partner. “He’s a great fit for this team—both on the floor and in this community. This is a very exciting day for us.”

In addition to two stints as a head coach in the NBA, Musselman was an assistant in the league for several teams, coaching under legendary names including Chuck Daly, Mike Fratello and Doc Rivers. He boasts experience coaching internationally, as well, over the last two decades.

Musselman comes to the NBA D-League for the first time having already established himself as one of the most celebrated coaches in minor league basketball history. He won 208 games in the CBA, carrying a .671 winning percentage—the second best mark in the league’s history. Musselman was a five-time CBA All-Star coach, and he won six division titles, earning a postseason berth in every season with the Rapid City Thrillers. At 28 years of age, he became the youngest coach in professional basketball history to reach 100 wins, and his two-year stint in the USBL concluded with back-to-back league titles and a composite 54-3 record.

His father, the late Bill Musselman, was a prominent head coach in the NBA, ABA, CBA, WBA and collegiately. The elder Musselman is the only person to have ever served as a head coach in four professional basketball leagues. He held NBA head coaching posts in Cleveland and Minnesota, and among his stops on the minor league circuit was one season with the Reno Bighorns of the Western Basketball Association. In the 1978-79 season, Musselman led the Bighorns to the WBA championship series, where they fell 4-to-3 in seven games.

Musselman has been one of the game’s premier radio and television analysts over the last several years. He served as color commentator for Comcast and Versus last season, calling West Coast Conference and NBA D- League games, respectively. He is still active as Fox Sports Radio’s NBA analyst, appearing weekly on several nationally-broadcast FSR programs.

Musselman and the Bighorns begin their third season on Saturday, Nov. 20, at home against the Utah Flash. Reno Bighorns 2010-11 full- and partial-season tickets are available now by calling the Bighorns front office at (775) 284-2NBA, and additional information is available at RenoBighorns.com.

The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league whose teams have direct affiliations to NBA franchises. For the 2009-10 season, the league featured 16 teams – including the debut of the Maine Red Claws and the Springfield Armor, while a new team, the Texas Legends, will join the League for the 2010-11 season. A proven developer of talent, 20 percent of players in the NBA at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season boasted NBA D-League experience, while the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and front-office staff for the NBA and its teams. In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs. The NBA D-League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout the season fans can watch all NBA D-League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast.

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