Morris B. "Bucky" Buckwalter (born November 22, 1933) is an American former professional basketball coach and executive. He played college basketball for the Utah Utes. Buckwalter served as an assistant coach and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as a head coach in the American Basketball Association.

Bucky Buckwalter
Buckwalter, c. 1967
Personal information
Born (1933-11-22) November 22, 1933 (age 90)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Career information
High schoolLa Grande (La Grande, Oregon)
CollegeUtah (1953–1956)
NBA draft1956: undrafted
Career history
As coach:
1972–1973Seattle SuperSonics (assistant)
1973Seattle SuperSonics (interim)
1974–1975Utah Stars
19791986Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)

Buckwalter grew up in La Grande, Oregon, and played high school basketball at La Grande High School. Buckwalter played college basketball at Utah, where his team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1956 NCAA basketball tournament before losing to the eventual champions, the Bill Russell-led San Francisco Dons.[1]

He served briefly as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics in 1972 (on an interim basis), and later served as the head coach of the Utah Stars of the ABA, replacing Joe Mullaney.[1]

While with the Stars, Buckwalter was known for signing Moses Malone out of high school. He was a scout for the Portland Trail Blazers when the team passed on Michael Jordan and selected Kentucky's Sam Bowie as the second pick in the 1984 NBA draft. He served as vice-president of Basketball Operations for the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1991, he won the NBA Executive of the Year Award, as the Blazers posted a league-best 63–19 record. He retired from the Blazers in 1997.[1]

Head coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Seattle Chieftains (Independent) (1967–1971)
1967–68 Seattle 14–13
1968–69 Seattle 20–8 NCAA University Division first round
1969–70 Seattle 15–10
1970–71 Seattle 12–14
Seattle Chieftains (West Coast Athletic Conference) (1971–1972)
1971–72 Seattle 17–9 10–4 3rd
Seattle: 78–54 (.591)
Total: 78–54 (.591)

NBA/ABA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs 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
Seattle 1972–73 37 13 24 .351 4th Pacific Missed playoffs
Utah* 1974–75 56 24 32 .429 Left mid-season
Career 93 37 56 .398    

References

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  1. ^ a b c Baum, Bob (1997-09-07). "Blazers' Buckwalter Retires With Countless Tales To Tell and will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
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