Mark Price

This article is about the basketball player. For other uses, see Mark Price (disambiguation).

William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1986 to 1998. Spending the majority of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his last three years consisted of one season each with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, and Orlando Magic.

Mark Price

Price after a game at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, 2016
Personal information
Born	(1964-02-15) February 15, 1964 (age 60) Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Enid (Enid, Oklahoma)
College	Georgia Tech (1982–1986)
NBA draft	1986: 2nd round, 25th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career	1986–1998
Position	Point guard
Number	25, 15, 5
Coaching career	1998–present
Career history
As player:
1986–1995	Cleveland Cavaliers
1995–1996	Washington Bullets
1996–1997	Golden State Warriors
1997–1998	Orlando Magic
As coach:
1998–1999	Duluth HS (assistant)
1999–2000	Georgia Tech (assistant)
2000–2001	Whitefield Academy
2006	South Dragons
2007–2008	Denver Nuggets (assistant)
2008–2010	Atlanta Hawks (assistant)
2010–2011	Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2011–2012	Orlando Magic (assistant)
2013–2015	Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets (assistant)
2015–2017	Charlotte 49ers
2018–2019	Denver Nuggets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
4× NBA All-Star (1989, 1992–1994) All-NBA First Team (1993) 3× All-NBA Third Team (1989, 1992, 1994) 2× NBA Three-Point Contest champion (1993, 1994) 50–40–90 club (1989) No. 25 retired by Cleveland Cavaliers Consensus second-team All-American (1985) Second-team All-American – NABC (1986) 2× Third-team All-American – UPI (1984, 1986) Third-team All-American – AP (1986) 3× First-team All-ACC (1984–1986) Second-team All-ACC (1983) ACC Rookie of the Year (1983) No. 25 retired by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Career NBA statistics
Points	10,989 (15.2 ppg)
Rebounds	1,848 (2.6 rpg)
Assists	4,863 (6.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Pan American Games 1983 Caracas Team competition FIBA World Championship 1994 Toronto Team competition

College career

Standing at 6 feet (183 cm) tall, Price played college basketball at Georgia Tech. During his time playing on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team, he was a three-time All American and four-time All ACC basketball player who helped lead the Yellow Jackets to an ACC Championship his junior year by defeating North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship game. He was named the ACC Player of the Year for the 1984–85 season and his jersey was retired.^[1] He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Price graduated in four years with a degree in Industrial Management.

College records

• All-time Georgia Tech leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.440, 1983–86)
• All-time Georgia Tech leader in steals (240, 1983–86)
• All-time Georgia Tech leader in consecutive games started (126, 1983–86)
• All-time Georgia Tech leader in minutes played (4,604, 1983–86)^[2]

Professional career

A point guard, he mystified critics who said he was too slow, too small and too deliberate for a high-level game. Selected first in the second round (25th overall) by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1986 NBA draft, he was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a draft day trade that helped turn the team into an Eastern Conference powerhouse.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Price was known as one of the league's most consistent shooters. He finished his career with a 90.4% free throw shooting percentage^[3] and a 40% three-point field goal shooting percentage.^[4] During the 1988–89 season, Price became the second player, after Larry Bird, to join the NBA's 50–40–90 club for those who shot at least 40% from three-point range, at least 50% from the field and at least 90% from the free throw line in a single season, and is still one of only eight players to have ever done this while also achieving the NBA league minimum number of makes in each category. Price ranked consistently among the assist leaders (as of March 11, 2015, LeBron James surpassed Price's Cavs record of 4,206 assists, taking over 1st place^[5]),^[6] twice won the Three Point Contest (in 1993 and 1994), and was a four-time All-Star. Price was named to the All-NBA First Team after the 1992–93 season.^[7] Price was second in franchise steals with 734, a Cavaliers record that stood until December 9, 2008, when LeBron James surpassed him.^[8]

Another one of Price's distinguishing traits on the court was his pioneering of the splitting of the double team. As former teammate Steve Kerr explains, "Mark really revolutionized the way that people attack the screen and roll. To me, he was the first guy in the NBA who really split the screen and roll. A lot of teams started blitzing the pick and roll and jumping two guys at it to take the ball out of the hands of the point guard. He’d duck right between them and shoot that little runner in the lane. Nobody was doing that at that time. You watch an NBA game now and almost everybody does that. Mark was a pioneer in that regard."^[9]

Later career

Price was plagued by injuries late in his career, a factor in his trade to the Washington Bullets prior to the 1995–96 season. He played one season for Washington before moving on to the Golden State Warriors, signing with the Warriors as a free agent in July 1996. Price played 70 games for Golden State and averaged 11.3 points per game. On October 28, 1997, Price was traded to the Orlando Magic for David Vaughn III and Brian Shaw. He spent one season with the Magic before being waived on June 30, 1998, effectively ending his career.

National team career

During his career Price represented the United States national team. He played for them in the 1983 Pan American Games where the team won gold medals, and also represented the national team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship, where they were known as Dream Team II, and won gold medals.^[10]

Legacy

Not long after retirement, Price's number, 25, was retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is a member of the Georgia, Ohio, and Oklahoma Sports Halls of Fame.

The city of Enid, Oklahoma, renamed the basketball arena Mark Price Arena, as a tribute to the NBA player's accomplishments, since he was one of the best basketball athletes in Enid High School history.^[11]

Personal life

Price's father Denny was a successful player at Oklahoma and for the Phillips 66ers, before becoming a college coach for Sam Houston State and Phillips University.^[12] His younger brother Brent played ten seasons in the NBA. His daughter Caroline had a short stint in professional tennis after playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels. His son Josh played college basketball for Trevecca (2021–2022), after attending and playing two years for Liberty Flames. Price is a Christian and attends church.^[13]

Coaching career

Mark Price began his coaching career during the 1998–99 basketball season as a community coach under head coach and friend Joe Marelle at Duluth High School for the varsity boys team. After Marelle discovered he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Price became a primary factor in the team's return trip to the final four of the class 5A GHSA state tournament. It was the first time Duluth High School returned to this point in the state tournament in 16 years. Price then went on to be an assistant coach to Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech during the 1999–2000 season.^[14]

After Cremins retired from coaching at Georgia Tech, Price then went on the following year to be the head coach at Whitefield Academy in Atlanta for the 2000–01 season leading the team to a 27–5 record and the final eight teams of the state Class A tournament, a 20 win improvement over the prior season and 27 win improvement two seasons before Price arrived.^[15] NBA player Josh Smith also played at Whitefield Academy the same season Price was coach.^[16][17]

In 2002, Price won the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award.^[18]

In 2003, Price was a consultant for the NBA's Denver Nuggets. He then became an NBA television analyst and color commentator for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks.

In March 2006, Price was named the inaugural head coach of the Australian NBL's South Dragons, a new franchise for the 2006–07 season.^[19] Despite the Dragons featuring NBL Rookie of the Year Joe Ingles and four time Olympian Shane Heal they began the season 0-5 and Price was fired.^[20] Price and Heal exchanged criticisms in the Australian press after Heal was named as his successor.^[21]

Price was the shooting consultant for the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2007–08 season and named the shooting coach for the Atlanta Hawks for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons.^[22] Price helped to improve the Hawks offensive output in their first return to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in nearly 10 years during the 2009 NBA Playoffs.^[23]

Price is credited with helping Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo improve his jump shot. Rondo's scoring was a key factor in the Celtics reaching the 2010 NBA Finals, where they pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to a full seven-game series.^[24] For the 2010–2011 season, Price joined the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach with the primary task of improving the Warriors shooting and free throw percentages.^[25]

In December 2011, Price was hired as a player development coach for the Orlando Magic.^[26] In July 2012, Price served as the head coach of the Orlando Magic's Summer League team.^[27]

On July 1, 2013, Price was hired as an assistant coach by the Charlotte Bobcats, joining the staff of head coach Steve Clifford and associate head coach Patrick Ewing for the 2013–14 season.^[28]

On March 25, 2015, Price was introduced as the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers.^[29] He replaced Coach Alan Major, who parted ways with Charlotte after two medical leaves during the past season.^[30] On December 14, 2017, it was announced that Mark Price was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers basketball program.^[31]

In September 2018, he joined the Denver Nuggets coaching staff as a shooting consultant for the 2018–19 season.^[32]

NBA career statistics

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
*	Led the league	‡	NBA record

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1986–87	Cleveland	67	0	18.2	.408	.329	.833	1.7	3.0	.6	.1	6.9
1987–88	Cleveland	80	79	32.8	.506	.486	.877	2.3	6.0	1.2	.2	16.0
1988–89	Cleveland	75	74	36.4	.526	.441	.901	3.0	8.4	1.5	.1	18.9
1989–90	Cleveland	73	73	37.1	.459	.406	.888	3.4	9.1	1.6	.1	19.6
1990–91	Cleveland	16	16	35.7	.497	.340	.952	2.8	10.4	2.6	.1	16.9
1991–92	Cleveland	72	72	29.7	.488	.387	.947*	2.4	7.4	1.3	.2	17.3
1992–93	Cleveland	75	74	31.7	.484	.416	.948*	2.7	8.0	1.2	.1	18.2
1993–94	Cleveland	76	73	31.4	.478	.397	.888	3.0	7.8	1.4	.1	17.3
1994–95	Cleveland	48	34	28.6	.413	.407	.914	2.3	7.0	.7	.1	15.8
1995–96	Washington	7	1	18.1	.300	.333	1.000	1.0	2.6	.9	.0	8.0
1996–97	Golden State	70	49	26.8	.447	.396	.906*	2.6	4.9	1.0	.0	11.3
1997–98	Orlando	63	33	22.7	.431	.335	.845	2.0	4.7	.8	.1	9.5
Career		722	578	29.9	.472	.402	.904	2.6	6.7	1.2	.1	15.2
All-Star		4	0	20.0	.514	.474	.900	1.5	3.3	1.3	.3	13.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1988	Cleveland	5	5	41.0	.567	.417	.960	3.6	7.6	.6	.0	21.0
1989	Cleveland	4	4	39.5	.386	.375	.933	3.3	5.5	.8	.0	16.0
1990	Cleveland	5	5	38.4	.525	.353	1.000	2.8	8.8	1.8	.2	20.0
1992	Cleveland	17	17	35.5	.496	.362	.904	2.5	7.5	1.4	.2	19.2
1993	Cleveland	9	9	32.0	.443	.308	.958	2.1	6.1	1.7	.0	13.0
1994	Cleveland	3	3	34.0	.349	.222	.929	2.0	4.7	1.3	.0	15.0
1995	Cleveland	4	4	35.8	.300	.235	.970	3.0	6.5	1.5	.0	15.0
Career		47	47	36.0	.464	.337	.944‡	2.6	7.0	1.4	.1	17.4

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Charlotte 49ers (Conference USA) (2015–2017)
2015–16	Charlotte	14–19	9–9	7th
2016–17	Charlotte	13–17	7–11	10th
2017–18	Charlotte	3–6	0–0
Charlotte:		30–42 (.417)	16–20 (.444)
Total:		30–42 (.417)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point field goal percentage leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw percentage leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References

1. "Mark Price Stats". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
2. "Georgia Tech 2015–16 Information Guide" (PDF). ramblingwreck.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 19, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
3. NBA History (2006). All Time Leaders: Free Throw Percentage. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
4. NBA History (2006). All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goal Percentage Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
5. "LeBron becomes Cavs' all-time assists leader". Espn.go.com. March 11, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
6. Cavaliers All-Time Leaders Archived June 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 16, 2007
7. "NBA.com: Postseason Awards - 1992-93". Nba.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
8. "Raptors vs. Cavaliers - Game Recap - December 9, 2008 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
9. "Mark Price Shot, Passed and "Split" His Way into the NBA's Elite | Cleveland Cavaliers News". Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
10. Howard-Cooper, Scott (August 25, 2015). "Q & A with Mark Price: Ready for the next challenge". NBA.com. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
11. GREATER ENID CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
12. Justice, Richard (March 20, 1996). "These Prices are competitive". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
13. Price, Mark (April 7, 2024). "Mark Price on X: "Nothing better than cuddle time with my sweet granddaughter at Sunday lunch after church! https://t.co/oduUp6c0eM" / X". Mark Price/X. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
14. "Sports Illustrated on Mark Price". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
15. "Rome News-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
16. Maurer, Matthew (May 10, 2007). "Josh Smith". Thedraftreview.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
17. Price Shatters Expectations Archived September 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
18. "2015 Coach John Wooden". Naia.org. March 20, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
19. "The Advertiser". The Advertiser. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
20. Halloran, Jessica (October 26, 2006). "Shane Heal deceived me, claims sacked coach Price". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
21. Howell, Stephen (October 25, 2006). "My hurt is at hands of Heal, says cut Price". The Age. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
22. Mark Price joins Hawks as consultant, Ajc.com; September 24, 2008
23. "Price hopes to help team improve shooting : Grizzlies". Commercialappeal.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
24. Mark Price aids Rondo's Improvement, Nytimes.com; June 2, 2010
25. Mark Price Joins Warriors Coaching Staff, Nba.com; September 29, 2010
26. "Mark Price Hired as Player Development Coach". Sports Media 101 - Magic 101. December 5, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
27. "Denton: Price Gaining Valuable Coaching Experience - THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE ORLANDO MAGIC". Nba.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
28. "Bobcats name Patrick Ewing, Bob Beyer, Stephen Silas, Bob Weiss, Mark Price as assistant coaches :InsideHoops". Insidehoops.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
29. Mark Price to coach Charlotte 49ers, Espn.go.com; March 25, 2015
30. Charlotte 49ers turn to Mark Price to revive basketball program, Charlotteobserver.com; March 26, 2015
31. "Mark Price fired as Charlotte head coach". Coaches Database. December 14, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
32. Price to join Nuggets' coaching staff as shooting instructor SI.com, September 10, 2018

External links

• Media related to Mark Price (basketball) at Wikimedia Commons
• Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference