Judson Donald Buechler (born June 19, 1968) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was part of the Chicago Bulls during their three consecutive championship seasons between 1996 and 1998.
 Buechler, circa 1987 | |
| New York Knicks | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 19, 1968 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 228 lb (103 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Poway (Poway, California) |
| College | Arizona (1986–1990) |
| NBA draft | 1990: 2nd round, 38th overall pick |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1990–2002 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 35, 33, 30, 26 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1990–1991 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1991 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1991–1994 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1994–1998 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1999–2001 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2001 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2001–2002 | Orlando Magic |
| As coach: | |
| 2016–2018 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 2018–present | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,385 (3.3 ppg) |
| Assists | 560 (0.8 apg) |
| Rebound | 1,266 (1.8 rpg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Early life and college career
Buechler grew up in Poway, California, and attended Poway High School, where he was a top basketball recruit as well as a Top-50 men's volleyball prospect. He was a basketball player for all four seasons, and an All-American volleyball player at the University of Arizona, where he earned the nickname "The Judge". As a basketball player, his career averages with Arizona were 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists over 22.4 minutes per game across 131 games.
NBA career
A sharp-shooting 6 ft 6 in guard/forward, Buechler was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2nd round, 38th overall, of the 1990 NBA draft. His draft rights were immediately traded to the New Jersey Nets, and he spent slightly over one season with the Nets before being waived in 1991.
After a brief stint with the San Antonio Spurs, he signed with the Golden State Warriors, with whom he averaged 6.2 points, 1.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds (all career highs) during the 1992–93 NBA season. However, Buechler would become best known for his four-year tenure (1994–1998) with the Chicago Bulls. With his former college teammate Steve Kerr, Buechler provided clutch shooting off the bench during the Bulls' second three-peat (1996–1998).
As the Bulls began their post-Jordan rebuilding process in 1999, Buechler signed with the Detroit Pistons, where he played for three seasons before being traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Buechler ended his career in 2002 after a short stint with the Orlando Magic. Buechler played 720 games across 12 seasons, with seven different franchises.
NBA career statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–91 | New Jersey | 74 | 10 | 11.6 | .416 | .250 | .652 | 1.9 | .7 | .4 | .2 | 3.1 |
| 1991–92 | New Jersey | 2 | 0 | 14.5 | .500 | – | – | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .5 | 4.0 |
| 1991–92 | San Antonio | 11 | 0 | 12.7 | .500 | – | .333 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | 3.0 |
| 1991–92 | Golden State | 15 | 0 | 8.1 | .303 | .000 | .750 | 1.9 | .7 | .6 | .2 | 1.9 |
| 1992–93 | Golden State | 70 | 9 | 18.4 | .437 | .339 | .747 | 2.8 | 1.3 | .7 | .3 | 6.2 |
| 1993–94 | Golden State | 36 | 0 | 6.1 | .500 | .414 | .500 | .9 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.9 |
| 1994–95 | Chicago | 57 | 0 | 10.6 | .492 | .313 | .564 | 1.7 | .9 | .4 | .2 | 3.8 |
| 1995–96† | Chicago | 74 | 0 | 10.0 | .463 | .444 | .636 | 1.5 | .8 | .5 | .1 | 3.8 |
| 1996–97† | Chicago | 76 | 0 | 9.3 | .367 | .333 | .357 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 |
| 1997–98† | Chicago | 74 | 0 | 8.2 | .483 | .385 | .500 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | .2 | 2.7 |
| 1998–99 | Detroit | 50* | 0 | 21.1 | .417 | .412 | .722 | 2.7 | 1.1 | .7 | .3 | 5.5 |
| 1999–2000 | Detroit | 58 | 5 | 11.3 | .353 | .217 | .286 | 1.6 | .6 | .4 | .3 | 2.2 |
| 2000–01 | Detroit | 57 | 3 | 12.9 | .463 | .416 | .750 | 1.6 | .7 | .4 | .2 | 3.4 |
| 2001–02 | Phoenix | 6 | 0 | 9.0 | .333 | .333 | – | 1.3 | .5 | .2 | .0 | 1.0 |
| 2001–02 | Orlando | 60 | 2 | 10.5 | .375 | .352 | .500 | 1.8 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 1.8 |
| Career | 720 | 29 | 11.7 | .433 | .366 | .633 | 1.8 | .8 | .4 | .2 | 3.3 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Chicago | 10 | 0 | 10.4 | .429 | .000 | .500 | 2.0 | .5 | .4 | .3 | 2.0 |
| 1996† | Chicago | 17 | 0 | 7.5 | .474 | .381 | .500 | .6 | .4 | .4 | .0 | 2.7 |
| 1997† | Chicago | 18 | 0 | 7.7 | .419 | .333 | .600 | 1.3 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 1.8 |
| 1998† | Chicago | 16 | 0 | 4.0 | .364 | .600 | – | .7 | .2 | .2 | .1 | .7 |
| 1999 | Detroit | 5 | 0 | 16.8 | .200 | .250 | – | 2.6 | .6 | .6 | .2 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | Detroit | 3 | 0 | 11.3 | .286 | .400 | – | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 2.0 |
| 2002 | Orlando | 2 | 0 | 5.0 | – | – | – | .5 | .5 | .5 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 71 | 0 | 7.9 | .398 | .358 | .538 | 1.2 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 1.7 | |
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com