# Gordon Chiesa

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American basketball player and coach

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**Gordon Chiesa** (born 1949 or 1950[1]) is an American [basketball](/source/Basketball) coach at the collegiate and NBA level, who served as the assistant coach for the [Utah Jazz](/source/Utah_Jazz) for 16 seasons from 1989–90 to 2004–05.

## Early life

A native of [Union City, New Jersey](/source/Union_City%2C_New_Jersey),[2][3] he played prep basketball at [St. Michael's High School](/source/St._Michael's_High_School_(Union_City%2C_New_Jersey)) in his hometown.[1]

As a college student, Chiesa played point guard and left [St. Thomas Aquinas College](/source/St._Thomas_Aquinas_College) in [Sparkill, New York](/source/Sparkill%2C_New_York), as the school's all-time leader in career assists (448) and assists average (8.1 apg). He led the Spartans to a 21–6 record and a postseason bid in his senior year.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Career

Chiesa's career began as the athletic director and head basketball coach at his alma mater of St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he guided the Spartans to three 20-win seasons and several postseason tournaments.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Following his tenure at St. Thomas Aquinas, Chiesa served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth from 1979 to 1981. He then accepted the head coaching position at Manhattan College, where he coached from 1981 to 1985 and was named the Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1983. Chiesa joined Rick Pitino's staff at [Providence College](/source/Providence_College) as an assistant coach from 1985 to 1987, before becoming head coach for the 1987–88 season. After posting a miserable 11–17 record, Chiesa was replaced as head coach by [Rick Barnes](/source/Rick_Barnes) who the following season posted an impressive 18–11 record and led the same team to the first round of the [NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament](/source/NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament).

He joined the [Orlando Magic](/source/Orlando_Magic) on August 30, 2012, as special consultant to the head coach.[4] He previously served as a consultant for the [NBA Development League](/source/NBA_Development_League) for the previous two seasons (2010–12). During his coaching career, Chiesa served as an assistant coach for two Hall of Fame coaches – [Jerry Sloan](/source/Jerry_Sloan) with the Utah Jazz and [Rick Pitino](/source/Rick_Pitino) at Providence College.[5]

Chiesa was an assistant coach with the [Utah Jazz](/source/Utah_Jazz), for 16 seasons from 1989–90 to 2004–05. During his tenure, he helped guide Utah to a pair of Western Conference crowns, three Midwest Division championships, a regular season record of 809–471 (.632) and 14 consecutive postseason appearances, including 149 playoff games. Chiesa has also been an assistant coach with New Jersey, Seattle and Memphis, and was director of pro scouting for the Grizzlies.[5]

Chiesa is one of a select few assistant coaches to serve in both the [NBA Finals](/source/NBA_Finals) (1997 and 1998) and the [NCAA Final Four](/source/NCAA_Men's_Division_I_Basketball_Championship) (1987).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Chiesa was inducted into the [Hudson County](/source/Hudson_County%2C_New_Jersey) Sports Hall of Fame in January 2001 for his achievements as a college and professional basketball coach.[6] He was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2009.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Personal life

Chiesa and his wife, Nancy, have two sons, Matthew and Craig.[2]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NYT1981_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NYT1981_1-1) ["Manhattan Names Chiesa As Head Basketball Coach"](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/11/sports/manhattan-names-chiesa-as-head-basketball-coach.html), *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, June 11, 1981. Accessed December 20, 2023. "Chiesa, 31 years old, grew up in Union City, N.J., and played for St. Michael's High School there."

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NBA.com_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NBA.com_2-1) ["Gordon Chiesa"](http://www.nba.com/coachfile/gordon_chiesa/). [NBA](/source/NBA).com. Retrieved August 30, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Garcia, Julian (November 1, 2005). ["PLANINIC WILL STAY EXTRA YEAR IN N.J."](http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/planinic-stay-extra-year-n-article-1.600889). *[New York Daily News](/source/New_York_Daily_News)* (New York).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Magic complete coaching staff"](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/magic-complete-coaching-staff_083012). *OrlandoMagic.com*. Retrieved August 30, 2012.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jaspers_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jaspers_5-1) ["NBA's Gordon Chiesa Returns to Draddy Gym for Annual Clinic"](https://gojaspers.com/news/2013/8/14/209133380.aspx), [Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball](/source/Manhattan_Jaspers_men's_basketball), August 14, 2013. Accessed December 21, 2023. "Chiesa has also served as an assistant coach with the Nets, SuperSonics and Grizzlies and was the Grizzlies' director of pro scouting."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Inductees](https://hudsoncountysportshalloffame.org/inductees/), Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame. Accessed December 21, 2023.

v t e Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball head coaches John O'Donnell (1904–1909) Edward Hanrahan (1909–1912) Fred J. Murphy (1912–1913) Edward Hanrahan (1913–1920) Edward P. Winters (1920–1922) Arthur T. Carroll (1922–1924) Ward Brennan (1924–1925) Arthur T. Carroll (1925–1926) Chief Muller (1926–1928) James Houlihan (1928–1929) Neil Cohalan (1929–1942) Joe Daher (1942–1943) No team (1943–1945) Honey Russell (1945–1946) Ken Norton (1946–1968) John Powers (1968–1978) Brian Mahoney (1978–1981) Gordon Chiesa (1981–1985) Tom Sullivan (1985–1986) Bob Delle Bovi (1986–1988) Steve Lappas (1988–1992) Fran Fraschilla (1992–1996) John Leonard (1996–1999) Bobby Gonzalez (1999–2006) Barry Rohrssen (2006–2011) Steve Masiello (2011–2022) RaShawn Stores # (2022–2023) John Gallagher (2023– ) # denotes interim head coach

v t e Providence Friars men's basketball head coaches No coach (1920–1921) William Donovan & Joe McGee (1921–1922) No team (1922–1926) Archie Golembeski (1926–1927) Al McClellan (1927–1938) Edward Crotty (1938–1943) No team (1943–1944) Edward Crotty (1944–1946) Lawrence Drew (1946–1949) James Cuddy (1949–1955) Joe Mullaney (1955–1969) Dave Gavitt (1969–1979) Gary Walters (1979–1981) Joe Mullaney (1981–1985) Rick Pitino (1985–1987) Gordon Chiesa (1987–1988) Rick Barnes (1988–1994) Pete Gillen (1994–1998) Tim Welsh (1998–2008) Keno Davis (2008–2011) Ed Cooley (2011–2023) Kim English (2023–2026) Bryan Hodgson (2026– )

v t e Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year 1982: Dukiet 1983: Chiesa 1984: Kennedy 1985: Wothke 1986: Buonaguro 1987: Fiore 1988: Morris 1989: Morris & Fiore 1990: Blaney 1991: Fiore 1992: Lappas 1993: Armstrong 1994: Beilein 1995: Fraschilla 1996: Cormier 1997: Welsh 1998: Welsh 1999: Mihalich 2000: Hewitt 2001: Magarity 2002: Harnum 2003: Gonzalez 2004: O'Toole 2005: Mihalich 2006: Gonzalez 2007: Brady 2008: Dempsey 2009: McCaffery 2010: Willard 2011: Cooley 2012: Patsos 2013: Mihalich 2014: Cluess 2015: Baggett 2016: Rice 2017: Rice 2018: Baggett 2019: Cluess 2020: Holloway 2021: Rice 2022: Pitino 2023: Pitino 2024: Pecora 2025: Pecora 2026: Gallo

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