Mike Woodson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Woodson played collegiately for Bob Knight at Indiana University from 1976 to 1980. As a junior captain, he led the Hoosiers to the 1979 NIT Championship and was named first team All-Big Ten. That summer, he won a gold medal as captain of the U.S. team at the 1979 Pan American Games. His senior year, he and Isiah Thomas led Indiana to a Big Ten title and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Woodson was named 1980 Big Ten Player of the Year, an NABC All-American, and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball. He ranks fifth all-time in total points at Indiana, and his 19.8 points per game average is tied for second highest among four-year Hoosiers. After his playing career, Woodson worked as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. He won an NBA Championship with the Pistons in 2003–04 alongside Larry Brown. As head coach of the Hawks, he made the playoffs his last three seasons and his 206 wins rank fourth-best in Hawks history. With the Knicks, he reached the playoffs twice and won an Atlantic Division title.

In Their Own Story

During Woodson's junior year at Indiana, word leaked that Big Ten coaches had left him off the all-conference first team, despite averaging 21 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. In the final game against Illinois, Woodson scored a career-high 48 points, including 29 in the first half. At the post-game press conference, Coach Knight erupted: 'How the hell can this guy not be on first team All-Big Ten?' The next day, Woodson was placed on the first team. The Hoosiers went on to win the 1979 NIT Tournament. Years later, after winning the 1984 NBA All-Star MVP, Isiah Thomas was asked if that was his biggest basketball thrill. Thomas replied, 'No, my biggest thrill was my freshman year at Indiana when Mike Woodson came back from back surgery and hit his first three jump shots at Iowa.'

Reader's Guide

Woodson's NBA playing career spanned 11 seasons with the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 14.0 points over 786 games, with a career-high 18.2 points per game in 1982–83 with the Kings. He appeared in 13 playoff games over five post-seasons. His coaching career began as an assistant under Chris Ford in Milwaukee, then Cleveland, before joining Larry Brown's staff in Philadelphia and Detroit, where they won the 2004 NBA Championship. Woodson then served six seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, making the playoffs in his final three years. He spent three seasons as head coach of the New York Knicks, reaching the playoffs twice and winning the Atlantic Division title. Woodson's coaches and mentors during his NBA career included Red Holzman, Larry Brown, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Gene Shue, and Don Chaney.

Did You Know?

• Woodson scored a career-high 48 points in a game against Illinois after being left off the all-conference first team.
• He won a gold medal as captain of the 1979 U.S. Pan American Games team coached by Bob Knight.
• Isiah Thomas called Woodson's return from back surgery his 'biggest basketball thrill.'
• Woodson ranks fifth all-time in total points at Indiana University with 2,061 points.
• He won an NBA Championship as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons in 2003–04.