Introduction
Larry Donnell Drew (born April 2, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who is the assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drew was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 1980 NBA draft. A 6'1" point guard from the University of Missouri, Drew played in 10 NBA seasons. He played for the Pistons, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. In 1988–89, Drew played in the Italian League with Scavolini.
In his NBA career, Drew played in 714 games and scored a total of 8,110 points. His best year as a professional came during the 1982–83 season as a member of the Kings, appearing in 75 games and averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
Drew served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers (1992–1999), Detroit Pistons (1999–2000), Washington Wizards (2000–2003), New Jersey Nets (2003–2004), and Atlanta Hawks (2004–2010). He became the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks in 2010–11. His contract expired after the 2012–13 season, when the Hawks hired Mike Budenholzer to replace Drew.
On May 31, 2013, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Drew as their head coach.
On June 30, 2014, the Bucks fired Drew from their head coaching position after acquiring head coach Jason Kidd from the Brooklyn Nets.
On August 19, 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Drew as their assistant coach.
Head coaching record
| Legend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win-loss % | |
| Post season | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win-loss % | |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 2010–11 | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 3rd in Southeast | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| Atlanta | 2011–12 | 66 | 40 | 26 | .606 | 2nd in Southeast | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in First Round |
| Atlanta | 2012–13 | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 2nd in Southeast | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in First Round |
| Milwaukee | 2013–14 | 82 | 15 | 67 | .183 | 5th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | 312 | 143 | 169 | .458 | 24 | 10 | 14 | .417 |
Personal life
Drew is married to Sharon Drew and they have three children, Larry II, Landon and Lindsey. His older son, Larry II, played collegiate basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2011. His son in the middle, Landon, played for the California State University, Northridge Matadors men's basketball team. Finally, his youngest son, Lindsey, plays for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.