Greg Foster (basketball)

Gregory Clinton Foster (born October 3, 1968) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Greg Foster

Personal information
Born	(1968-10-03) October 3, 1968 (age 56) Oakland, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school	Skyline (Oakland, California)
College	UCLA (1986–1988) UTEP (1988–1990)
NBA draft	1990: 2nd round, 35th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Playing career	1990–2003
Position	Power forward / center
Number	42, 44, 35, 40
Coaching career	2013–present
Career history
As player:
1990	Breogán
1990–1992	Washington Bullets
1992–1993	Atlanta Hawks
1993	Milwaukee Bucks
1993–1994	Papagos Athens
1994	Chicago Bulls
1994–1995	Minnesota Timberwolves
1995–1999	Utah Jazz
1999–2000	Seattle SuperSonics
2000–2001	Los Angeles Lakers
2001–2002	Milwaukee Bucks
2002–2003	Toronto Raptors
As coach:
2013–2014	Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
2014–2018	Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
2018–2020	Atlanta Hawks (assistant)
2020–2021	Indiana Pacers (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2001)
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,538 (3.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,691 (2.6 rpg)
Assists	351 (0.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

College years

Foster was born in Oakland, California and attended Skyline High School where he played alongside future NBA point guard Gary Payton. He began his collegiate basketball career at UCLA, playing for the Bruins his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to UTEP. As a junior in 1988–89, he played alongside future NBA stars Tim Hardaway and Antonio Davis. Foster helped lead the Miners to two WAC titles, and as a senior he averaged 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Foster earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from UTEP in 2011.^[1]

Professional career

A 6'11" center–power forward, Foster was selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (35th overall pick) of the 1990 NBA draft. He spent 13 seasons (1990–2003) in the NBA as a member of the Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Toronto Raptors. During his long career, mainly spent as a reserve player, he reached the NBA Finals three times (twice with the Jazz and once with the Lakers) and won a championship ring with the Lakers in 2001.

Coaching career

Foster served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.

During the 2013–14 season, he Served as player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. From 2014 to 2018 Foster served as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 8, 2018, the Atlanta Hawks hired Foster as an assistant coach, a position he held for the next season as well.^[2]

On November 13, 2020, Foster was hired as an assistant coach by the Indiana Pacers under Nate Bjorkgren.^[3]

On May 6, 2021, Foster was suspended one game after an on-court verbal altercation with Pacers player Goga Bitadze.^[4]

Personal life

Foster and his wife have a son and two daughters.^[5] While in high school, he had the name "Bowie" tattooed on his left shoulder as his friends felt he resembled former NBA center Sam Bowie, who was then playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.^[6]

Career stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship	*	Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990–91	Washington	54	3	11.2	.460	.000	.689	2.8	.7	.2	.4	4.4
1991–92	Washington	49	3	11.2	.461	.000	.714	3.0	.7	.1	.2	4.3
1992–93	Washington	10	0	9.3	.440	–	.667	2.7	1.1	.0	.5	2.4
1992–93	Atlanta	33	0	6.2	.463	.000	.722	1.7	.3	.1	.3	3.1
1993–94	Milwaukee	3	0	6.3	.571	–	1.000	1.0	.0	.0	.3	3.3
1994–95	Chicago	17	3	17.6	.477	.–	.710	3.2	.9	.1	.5	6.1
1994–95	Minnesota	61	0	13.9	.470	.304	.700	3.4	.4	.2	.3	4.6
1995–96	Utah	73	2	11.0	.439	.125	.847	2.4	.3	.1	.3	3.8
1996–97	Utah	79	12	11.6	.453	.667	.831	2.4	.4	.1	.3	3.5
1997–98	Utah	78	49	18.5	.445	.222	.770	3.5	.7	.2	.4	5.7
1998–99	Utah	42	1	10.9	.377	.250	.619	2.0	.6	.1	.2	2.8
1999–00	Seattle	60	5	12.0	.406	.200	.643	1.8	.7	.2	.3	3.4
2000–01†	L.A. Lakers	62	8	7.3	.421	.333	.714	1.8	.5	.1	.2	2.0
2001–02	Milwaukee	6	0	4.0	.222	.000	.750	1.3	.2	.0	.0	1.2
2002–03	Toronto	29	9	18.6	.385	.250	.813	3.5	.4	.0	.3	4.2
Career		656	95	12.2	.440	.225	.748	2.6	.5	.1	.3	3.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1993	Atlanta	1	0	5.0	.333	–	.750	1.0	.0	.0	.0	5.0
1995	Utah	12	0	6.3	.500	–	.600	1.0	.2	.1	.2	2.3
1996	Utah	20*	0	15.5	.389	.250	.867	2.8	.6	.2	.4	4.2
1997	Utah	20	16	16.8	.453	.500	.600	3.4	.3	.1	.3	4.1
1998	Utah	8	0	8.8	.421	–	–	1.0	.1	.1	.0	2.0
1999	Seattle	5	0	13.6	.368	.400	1.000	2.2	.2	.0	.2	3.6
2000–01†	L.A. Lakers	1	0	3.0	–	–	–	1.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		67	16	12.9	.425	.333	.784	2.3	.3	.1	.2	3.5

References

1. Knight, Bill (May 14, 2011). "UTEP basketball assistant Greg Foster gets degree 17 years after Miner days". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013.
2. "Hawks Announce Additions To Coaching Staff". NBA.com. June 8, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
3. "Pacers Name Assistant Coaches for 2020-21 Season". NBA.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
4. "Indiana Pacers suspend assistant coach Greg Foster, fine Goga Bitadze after on-court exchange". ESPN.com. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
5. "Greg Foster". NBA.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
6. Genessy, Jody (May 31, 1998). "Under their skin". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference