Sam Vincent

Former NBA player and head coach

What is Sam Vincent known for?

James Samuel Vincent, better known as Sam Vincent, was born on May 18, 1963, in Lansing, Michigan. An outstanding basketball player from an early age, Vincent attended Eastern High School in Lansing, where he won the inaugural State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981. Notably, he broke the city scoring record set by Magic Johnson, amassing 61 points in a single game during his senior year.

Vincent went on to play college basketball at Michigan State University. His performance there led to his selection by the Boston Celtics as the 20th pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. His playing career spanned from 1985 to 1994, seeing stints with the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic. As a player, Vincent was crowned an NBA champion in 1986 with the Boston Celtics. He scored a total of 3,106 points and provided 1,543 assists throughout his NBA career.

Post-retirement, Vincent forged a successful coaching career from 1999 to 2016. He notably held coaching positions in Greece, Netherlands, Nigeria, the NBA Developmental League, and even led the Nigerian women's basketball team to a historic victory at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His contributions to basketball have been recognized with numerous accolades, including being named Second-team All-American – NABC (1985), Third-team All-American – AP, UPI (1985), and Mr. Basketball of Michigan (1981).

For a comprehensive look at Sam Vincent's career statistics, you can visit NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.