Nate McMillan
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Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former NBA standout Nate McMillan was named on Nov. 28, 2005, one of three assistant coaches for the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team program for 2006-2008.
'I was pleasantly surprised when I was asked to be a member of the coaching staff of the 2006-08 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team program,' said McMillan. 'I am so honored to have been asked, this is the greatest achievement of my basketball career. There is nothing more gratifying than representing your country doing something you love.'
In completing his eighth season overall as a NBA head coach and his third as the head man for Portland, McMillan has compiled a 306-335 (.477) regular season win-loss record, while advancing teams to the NBA playoffs twice, where he has compiled an 8-8 mark.
McMillan was named head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on July 7, 2005, after serving as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics for five seasons and compiling a record of 212-183 (.537 winning percentage).
Finishing 41-41 in 2007-08, a nine game improvement on the 2006-07 season and a 20 game improvement over his inagural campaign, his third year with the Trail Blazers saw Portland win the most games since 2003-04 when they also collected 41.
Named the NBA's Western Conference Coach of the Month for December 2007, McMillan was recognized after leading the team to a 13-game winning streak and a 13-2 month. The streak was the second best in the NBA this season and the second longest in Trail Blazers history. The team's winning percentage in December is the franchise's third highest, all-time.
McMillan gained his 300th win as a head coach on March 15, 2008, becoming just the 50th coach (11th active) in NBA history to do so. Currently 11th among active head coaches, no coach has more wins than McMillan with eight years of coaching experience or less. McMillan has amassed 94 of his 306 wins in his three seasons in Portland, after gaining his first 212 wins while coaching the Sonics.
Having spent his entire 12-year playing career with Seattle, McMillan was named the Sonics interim head coach on Nov. 27, 2000, after serving as assistant coach to Paul Westphal for the previous two seasons.
As the 12th head coach in the Seattle's history, and the youngest in the NBA at the time of his naming, he directed Seattle to a 38-29 record in the 2000-01 season. The Sonics removed the interim status from McMillan's title on Jan. 5, 2001, and signed him to a four-year contract on March 27. He led the Sonics to their most successful month in March, when the team won 10 of 11 games.
In McMillan's first full NBA campaign as a head coach, he guided Seattle to a 45-37 regular season record and the seventh seed in the 2002 Western Conference Playoffs.
In 2004-05, McMillan led the Sonics to a 52-30 record, the league's sixth best record, and the Northwest Division Championship. He advanced his squad to the Western Conference semifinals before falling to the eventual champion, San Antonio, in six games.
As a player, McMillan was originally selected by the Sonics out of North Carolina State University with the 30th overall pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft.
Spending his entire professional playing career in Seattle, he became affectionately known in the Seattle community as 'Mr. Sonic.' McMillan retired from his NBA playing days after the 1997-98 season and left the hardwood as Seattle's all-time leader in assists (4893) and steals (1544). He now ranks second in both categories and ranks in the Sonics all-time top-10 in eight other statistical columns.
One of the top defensive players during his NBA career, McMillan was named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team in 1994 and 1995. He led the league in steals in 1993-94, averaging a career-high 2.96 per game. On Feb. 23, 1987, versus the Los Angeles Clippers, McMillan tied the single-game rookie assist record when he handed out a career-high 25 " a record he still shares with Ernie DiGregorio.
In his 12 seasons with Seattle the team qualified for the postseason 11 times, and McMillan appeared in more playoff games (98) than anyone in team history. His dozen years as a Sonics player also ranks second only to Fred Brown in number of seasons served with the franchise.
On March 24, 1999, McMillan had his Sonics' number 10 jersey retired at halftime during a game against the Washington Wizards. He is just the fifth Sonics player in the history of the franchise to have his number retired, joining team legends Fred Brown, Jack Sikma, Lenny Wilkens and Gus Williams.
On March 19, 2001, the National Junior College Men's Basketball Coaches Association inducted McMillan into their Hall of Fame as a player. McMillan played for Chowan College in Murfreesboro, N.C., from 1982-83 to 1983-84, where he led the team to the 1984 NJCAA National Tournament and was named NJCAA All-American. He played his next two seasons for North Carolina State University.
| Team | Position |
Record |
Pct. | Record /Finish |
| 2007 USA Olympic Qualifying Team | Assistant Coach | 10-0 | 1.000 | Gold Medal |
| 2006 USA World Championship Team | Assistant Coach |
8-1 |
.889 | Bronze Medal |
| 2006 USA Senior National Team | Assistant Coach |
5-0 |
1.000 | N/A |
| Totals | 3 International Competitions |
23-1 |
.958 |
1 Gold Medal 1 Bronze Medal |
NBA Head Coaching Record:
| Year | NBA Team |
Regular Season Record |
Playoffs Record |
Post Season / Notes |
| 2007-08 | Portland | 41-41 |
- |
- |
| 2006-07 | Portland | 32-50 |
- |
- |
| 2005-06 | Portland |
21-61 |
- |
- |
| 2004-05 | Seattle |
52-30 |
6- 5 |
Western Conference Semifinals / Northwest Division Champions |
| 2003-04 | Seattle |
37-45 |
- |
- |
| 2002-03 | Seattle |
40-42 |
- |
- |
| 2001-02 | Seattle |
45-37 |
2- 3 |
- |
| 2000-01 | Seattle |
38-29 |
- |
- |
| Career Record: | 314-343 (.478) | 8 Years | ||
| NBA Playoffs Record: | 8-8 (.500) | 2 Playoffs | ||
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